Christmas Rappin'
Kurtis Blow Lyrics
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Hold it now! Wait, hold it. That's played out. Hit it!
Don't you give me all that jive about things you wrote before I's alive
'Cause this ain't 1823 -- ain't even 1970
Now I'm the guy named Kurtis Blow and Christmas is one thing I know
So every year just about this time, I celebrate it with a rhyme
Gonna rock shock clock it through your neighbourhood
Gonna read, gonna sing it till it's understood
My rappin' bout to happen like a knee you've been slapping
Or a toe you've been tapping on a hunk of wood
Bout a red-suited dude with a friendly attitude
And a sleigh full of goodies for for the people on the block
Got a long white beard, maybe looks kind a weird
And if you ever see him, he could give you quite a shock
Now people let me tell ya bout last year
When the dude came flying over here
Well, the hog was out, snow's on the ground
Folks stayed in to party down
The beat was thumping on the box, and I was dancing in my socks
And the drummer played at a solid pace
And a taste of the bass was in my face
And the guitar player layed down a heavy layer
Of the funky junky rhythm of the disco beat
And the guy with the 88's started to participate
And I could sure appreciate a sound so sweat
We were all in the mood so we had a little food
And a joke, and a smoke, and a little bit of wine
When I thought I heard a hoof on the top of the roof
Could it be or was it me? I was feeling super fine
So I went to your attic where I thought heard the static
On the chance that the prance was somebody breaking in
But the noise on the top was a reindeer clop
Just a trick St. Nick, and I let the sucker in
He was roly, he was poly, and I said, "Holy moly!
You got a lot of whiskers on your chinny chin chin"
He allowed he was proud of the hairy little crowd
On the point of his jaw where the skin should've been
Gets cool for a fool going out every Yule
For a day on a sleigh when the cold went low
So the beard may be weird but I'll never have it sheared
'Cause it's warm in the storm when it's ten below
I said, "You're right, it's cold tonight
But can you stop for a drop before you go?"
He said, "Why not if the music's hot?
And I'll chance a dance beneath the mistletoe"
So he went downstairs and forgot his guests
And he rocked the spot and danced like a pro
And every young girl tried to rock his world
But he boogie oogie oogied til he had to go
And before he went, this fine old gent
Brought a gift with a sift through his big red bags
In the top or the bottom, he reached in and got 'em
Toys for the boys, for the girls glad rags
And the grownups got some presents too
A new TV and a stereo
A new Seville bout as blue as the sky
The best that money couldn't buy
'Cause money could never ever buy the feeling
The one that comes from not concealing
The way you you feel about your friends
And this is how the story ends
The dude in red's back at the Pole
Up north where everything is cold
But if he were right here tonight
He'd say, Merry Christmas and to all a good night
The lyrics to Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'" are a playful take on the classic Christmas poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas". The song begins with the rapper interrupting the familiar opening line of the poem, implying a desire to modernize the antiquated language. Kurtis Blow then goes on to explain that he is a rapper and that Christmas is one thing he knows, setting up the song's theme of celebrating the holiday with a rap.
Kurtis Blow proceeds to describe a "red-suited dude with a friendly attitude," who is, of course, Santa Claus. He goes on to describe a party where he and his friends were dancing to music and drinking wine when they heard a noise on the roof. They thought it might be somebody breaking in, but it was actually Santa Claus and his reindeer.
Santa Claus comes into the party and joins in the dancing, and before he leaves, he gives everyone presents. The song ends with the line "Merry Christmas and to all a good night," echoing the poem it is based on.
Overall, "Christmas Rappin'" is a fun and upbeat take on the holidays, blending modern rap with traditional Christmas themes. The song is notable for being one of the first rap songs to chart in the United States, peaking at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.
Line by Line Meaning
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house
It was the night before Christmas, and there was no activity in the house.
Hold it now! Wait, hold it. That's played out. Hit it!
Stop with the old school ways, it's time to change the style.
Don't you give me all that jive about things you wrote before I's alive
Do not tell me about the outdated traditions when they are not relevant anymore.
'Cause this ain't 1823 -- ain't even 1970
The traditional ways of old are outdated now and it's not even the 70s yet.
Now I'm the guy named Kurtis Blow and Christmas is one thing I know
I am Kurtis Blow and I know about Christmas.
So every year just about this time, I celebrate it with a rhyme
I celebrate Christmas every year with a rap.
Gonna shake it, gonna bake it, gonna make it good
I'm going to dance, cook, and make it a good time.
Gonna rock shock clock it through your neighbourhood
I'm going to rock the music and everyone in the neighborhood will know.
Gonna read, gonna sing it till it's understood
I'm going to read and sing until everyone understands the rap.
My rappin' bout to happen like a knee you've been slapping
My rap is going to occur suddenly like when you slap your knee laughing.
Or a toe you've been tapping on a hunk of wood
Or like when you tap your toe to the sound of a wooden instrument.
Bout a red-suited dude with a friendly attitude
I'm rapping about Santa Claus, the friendly man in a red suit.
And a sleigh full of goodies for for the people on the block
He has a sleigh filled with gifts for the people in the neighborhood.
Got a long white beard, maybe looks kind a weird
He has a long white beard that may look strange to some people.
And if you ever see him, he could give you quite a shock
If you ever see Santa Claus, it might surprise you.
Now people let me tell ya bout last year
Let me tell you about last year's Christmas.
When the dude came flying over here
When Santa Claus flew over here.
Well, the hog was out, snow's on the ground
It was snowing outside.
Folks stayed in to party down
People stayed inside to have a good time.
The beat was thumping on the box, and I was dancing in my socks
The music was playing loudly and I was dancing in my socks.
And the drummer played at a solid pace
The drummer had a good rhythm going.
And a taste of the bass was in my face
The strong sound of the bass was noticeable.
And the guitar player layed down a heavy layer
The guitar player played a strong and dynamic tune.
Of the funky junky rhythm of the disco beat
The music was funky and had a disco beat.
And the guy with the 88's started to participate
The pianist started to join in with the music.
And I could sure appreciate a sound so sweat
I really enjoyed the sweet sounds of the music.
We were all in the mood so we had a little food
We all were feeling in the mood, so we started eating.
And a joke, and a smoke, and a little bit of wine
We were also telling jokes, smoking, and drinking wine.
When I thought I heard a hoof on the top of the roof
I thought I heard a noise on the roof.
Could it be or was it me? I was feeling super fine
I was feeling good and wondered if I was making the noise.
So I went to your attic where I thought heard the static
I went to your attic to investigate the noise.
On the chance that the prance was somebody breaking in
I thought someone was breaking in.
But the noise on the top was a reindeer clop
The noise was from Santa's reindeer on my roof.
Just a trick St. Nick, and I let the sucker in
It was just Santa Claus playing a trick, and I let him in.
He was roly, he was poly, and I said, Holy moly!
Santa Claus was big and round, I was surprised to see him!
You got a lot of whiskers on your chinny chin chin
You have a lot of facial hair.
He allowed he was proud of the hairy little crowd
Santa was proud of his little beard.
On the point of his jaw where the skin should've been
The hair was growing where it would be more common to see skin.
Gets cool for a fool going out every Yule
It's seems strange for Santa to go out every Christmas.
For a day on a sleigh when the cold went low
Despite the cold weather, Santa still goes out on his sleigh to deliver gifts.
So the beard may be weird but I'll never have it sheared
The beard may be odd, but Santa will never cut it.
'Cause it's warm in the storm when it's ten below
In the storm, when it's very cold, the beard keeps him warm.
I said, You're right, it's cold tonight
I agreed that it was cold outside.
But can you stop for a drop before you go?
Can Santa stay and have a drink before he leaves?
He said, Why not if the music's hot?
Santa agreed as long as the music was good.
And I'll chance a dance beneath the mistletoe
And he was willing to dance under the mistletoe.
So he went downstairs and forgot his guests
He forgot about the other people who were at the party.
And he rocked the spot and danced like a pro
He danced beautifully and got people excited.
And every young girl tried to rock his world
All the girls were excited to dance with him.
But he boogie oogie oogied til he had to go
He continued to dance until he had to leave.
And before he went, this fine old gent
Before Santa left, he had a gift for everyone.
Brought a gift with a sift through his big red bags
He brought gifts from his big bag.
In the top or the bottom, he reached in and got 'em
He searched through his bag for everyone's gifts.
Toys for the boys, for the girls glad rags
He had toys for the boys and pretty clothes for the girls.
And the grownups got some presents too
Even the adults got some gifts.
A new TV and a stereo
Some adults received a new TV and stereo as gifts.
A new Seville bout as blue as the sky
Someone received a new blue Seville car as a gift.
The best that money couldn't buy
They received the best gift that money couldn't buy.
'Cause money could never ever buy the feeling
Money can't buy the joy that the gift of love brings.
The one that comes from not concealing
The joy that comes from not hiding true feelings.
The way you feel about your friends
The love and warmth one feels towards their friends.
And this is how the story ends
And that's how the Christmas story ends.
The dude in red's back at the Pole
Santa Claus has gone back to the North Pole.
Up north where everything is cold
The North Pole is cold and icy.
But if he were right here tonight
If Santa were here tonight.
He'd say, Merry Christmas and to all a good night
He would wish everyone a Merry Christmas and goodnight.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, MUSIC MANAGEMENT, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Denzil Miller, James B Moore, Kurt Walker, Lawrence Smith, Robert Arthur Ford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sevinatenine4444
MY CHRISTMAS SEASON DOESN'T OFFICIALLY BEGIN TILL I HEAR THIS SONG HERE.
@razstas
I hear you
@TravelingTal
If you weren't around when this was released, it's very hard to explain how much joy this one Hip Hop classic brought us at basement house parties with only one hanging light and a DJ table, friends in Jr high trying to memorize they lyrics. It was great time!
@maryburrell3948
Such a good time was had back then.
@michaelstitt7735
Ap😊
@Charmn1
Yoooooo Im cracking up because you're so factual 😂😂.
@jonitiafields2752
Im a 80's baby and I can relate 🙌🏾😅 this most definitely a classic and is under rated... Cause I'm sick of hearing damn Mariah Christmas song a million times a day🤷🏾♀️😅
@zombl337og
sounds like a good time
@michellehall1815
This is a classic! Old school rap is the best. No profanity and Kurtis Blow still killed it!
@veronicamoody3981
That's right, there's no curse words or lyrics about sex. You don't need that to be entertaining. Today's rappers seem clueless about the concept.