Clooney's first recordings, in May 1946, were for Columbia Records. She sang with Tony Pastor's big band. Clooney continued working with the Pastor band until 1949, making her last recording with the band in May of that year and her first as a solo artist a month later, still for Columbia.
She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit Come On-a My House written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (better known as David Seville, the father figure of Alvin and the Chipmunks), which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" (a cover version of the Italian song Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina by Alberto Rabagliati), "Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There" and "This Ole House", although she had success as a jazz vocalist. Clooney's career languished in the 1960s, partly due to problems related to depression and drug addiction, but revived in 1977, when her White Christmas co-star Bing Crosby asked her to appear with him at a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business. She continued recording until her death in 2002. She was the aunt of Academy Award winning actor George Clooney; mother-in-law of singer Debby Boone; and sister to former television personality Nick Clooney. She was the ex-wife of Jose Ferrer; mother of actor Miguel Ferrer
Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001. Around this time, she gave her last concert, in Hawaii, backed by the Honolulu Symphony Pops; her last song was "God Bless America".
Christmas
Rosemary Clooney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lives an old man, they say.
He wraps up bundles with ribbons,
Just to give them away.
All year long in the mountains,
He looks down to see
Kids that are good, and kids that are bad,
And treats them accordingly.
If you want toys like other little boys
In your neighborhood,
Don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
To be good.
And dolls with curls are for the little girls,
Who do things they should,
So don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
To be good.
You can't fool Mister Santa Claus,
He knows right from wrong;
And you can't be right for just one night,
You gotta be right, right along.
You'd love to see another Christmas tree
Where the old one stood.
So don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
To be good.
Santa Claus has a big book
That helps him to remember,
He can tell each kid the things they did
From January to December.
Jingle bells never jingle
For the very bad ones.
Every Christmas Day, the good are gay
And the bad ones are the sad ones.
If you want toys like other little boys
In your neighborhood,
Don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
To be good.
And dolls with curls are for the little girls,
Who do things they should,
So don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
To be good.
You can't fool Mister Santa Claus,
He knows right from wrong;
And you can't be right for just one night,
You gotta be right, right along.
You'd love to see another Christmas tree
Where the old one stood.
So don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
To be good.
The song "Christmas" by Rosemary Clooney is a cautionary tale about Santa Claus's watchful eye on children's behavior throughout the year, not just on Christmas Eve. It tells a story about an old man who lives in the mountains and spends his days wrapping up gifts with ribbons to give away to the children who have been good. This old man, sometimes referred to as Santa Claus, watches over the children all year long, keeping an eye on who is good and who is bad. He sees who is deserving of toys and who is not. And it is not just based on one night's behavior; rather, it takes a full year's worth of good behavior to be on the "good" list.
The lyrics in this song are not just about the importance of being good. Still, they also discuss the rewards for good behavior and the consequences of misbehaving. The song paints a vivid picture of a joyful Christmas morning for the good kids and a miserable one for the bad kids. The message of the song is clear: be good all year long if you want to receive the rewards during Christmastime.
Overall, "Christmas" presents a timeless message that is still relevant today, as a reminder to be good to others throughout the year, not just on Christmas Eve, and to be grateful for what we have.
Line by Line Meaning
All year long in the mountains
Throughout the year, up in the mountains, there is an old man.
Lives an old man, they say.
Legend has it that this old man lives there.
He wraps up bundles with ribbons,
He makes bundles with ribbons.
Just to give them away.
The purpose of these bundles is to give them away.
All year long in the mountains,
This is something he does all year long.
He looks down to see
He looks down from the mountains to see.
Kids that are good, and kids that are bad,
He observes both good and bad children.
And treats them accordingly.
And he treats them based on their behavior.
If you want toys like other little boys
If you want toys like the other boys in your neighborhood.
In your neighborhood,
In the area where you live.
Don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
Don't wait until the night before Christmas.
To be good.
To start behaving well.
And dolls with curls are for the little girls,
Dolls with curls are for little girls.
Who do things they should,
The little girls who are well-behaved.
So don't wait 'til the night before Christmas
Don't wait until Christmas Eve.
To be good.
To start behaving well.
You can't fool Mister Santa Claus,
You cannot trick Santa Claus.
He knows right from wrong;
He knows the difference between right and wrong.
And you can't be right for just one night,
You cannot be well-behaved for just one night.
You gotta be right, right along.
You need to be well-behaved continuously.
You'd love to see another Christmas tree
You would love to have another Christmas tree.
Where the old one stood.
In the same place as the old one was.
Santa Claus has a big book
Santa Claus has a large book.
That helps him to remember,
This book aids him to recall.
He can tell each kid the things they did
He can remind every child what they did.
From January to December.
From the beginning to the end of the year.
Jingle bells never jingle
The sound of jingle bells is not heard.
For the very bad ones.
Because the very bad children do not receive gifts.
Every Christmas Day, the good are gay
Every Christmas, the well-behaved children are happy.
And the bad ones are the sad ones.
Whereas, the poorly-behaved children are the ones who are sad.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ABEL BAER, SAM M. LEWIS, SAMUEL M. LEWIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Green Gun
What a force of nature Rosemary was. Such a sweet soul.
2017 MB Sprinter
She is fabulous as always! So much warmth and sincerity ❤️
KT Kool
Beautiful! Truly, thank you.
Rick Ortiz
Beautiful Lady and voice
flyseventeenthirtytw
beautiful
Lana Dale
Love her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kester1940
Although it's been said many times many ways, Merry Christmas to you, R&G :)
GoingBackInTime
Happy holidays to you and your family 🎄♥️
Rosemary Clooneytunes
Thank you very much, same to you !
Daniel Burns
Miss you Rosie, you are one of the very best.