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".
Little Drummer Boy
Rosemary Clooney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our newborn king to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the king, pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
So to honor him, pa rum pum pum pum
When we come
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give our king, pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum
On my drum?
Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for him, pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
Then he smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum, me and my drum
The song "Little Drummer Boy" by Rosemary Clooney is a retelling of the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ from the perspective of a poor boy who visits the stable where the baby was born. In the first verse, the boy is invited to come and see the newborn king, and he decides to bring his finest gifts, which happen to be his own drumming skills. He believes that offering his talent to the king is the best way he can honor him. In the second verse, the boy admits to being poor and having no physical gift to give, but offers to play his drum for the king. Mary gives him permission to play, and even the animals in the stable join in with the rhythm, creating a beautiful moment for the boy and the king.
Line by Line Meaning
Come, they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
They came to me and urged me to join them with a rhythmic sound 'pa rum pum pum pum'
Our newborn king to see, pa rum pum pum pum
To see the birth of our new king, we are gathered
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
We bring the best of gifts we could afford to offer
To lay before the king, pa rum pum pum pum
We wish to present these gifts to our mighty king
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
We joined together with a rhythmic sound 'rum pum pum pum'
So to honor him, pa rum pum pum pum
We do all this to honor the king and offer our respect
When we come
We shall come with all the gifts, respect, and honor to the king
Little baby, pa rum pum pum pum
That little baby, we regard with respect and adoration, with rhythmic sounds 'pa rum pum pum pum'
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I am also a poor boy just like many others
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
I could not afford any gift, but I still come with respect and love
That's fit to give our king, pa rum pum pum pum
I feel that I have no valuable gifts that I could give the king, so I join with rhythmic sound 'pa rum pum pum pum'
Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum
I can play my drum for you if you allow me to do so with rhythmic sounds 'pa rum pum pum pum'
Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
Mary gave me permission to play my drum, and I start with rhythmic sounds 'pa rum pum pum pum'
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
The animals present there joined my rhythm with their sounds 'pa rum pum pum pum'
I played my drum for him, pa rum pum pum pum
I continue to play my drum in honor of the king with rhythmic sounds 'pa rum pum pum pum'
I played my best for him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my heart out with my drum, with rhythmic sounds 'pa rum pum pum pum'
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
We continued to play together with our rhythmic sounds 'rum pum pum pum'
Then he smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
With my rhythm, I could see the king smiling at me with love and acceptance
Me and my drum, me and my drum
I felt proud to have my drum and me for the king with rhythmic sounds 'me and my drum'
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, INTERNATIONAL KORWIN CORP, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harry Simeone, Henry V Onorati, Katherine Kennicot Davis, Lorenzo Definti
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rainforestflower92
My personal favourite version of this wonderful song! Rosemary Clooney is such an awesome singer!
@lowellthomasjr.468
She was such a great singer !
@VladSicoe
the best version ever! thanks for the upload the pics are fabulous :)
@AmyJ81
My favorite version of my favorite Christmas song.
@thegeezerdan
I love this song by this lady.
@paulm3965
Takes me back to my childhood ,wonderful not a care in the world nostalgic.Rosemary Clooney together with Bing Crosby just a time in my life when problems did not exist.
@emileschaffhaunssen177
Such a Great singer .
@RJ-cq8dd
Thanks for uploading! My brother used to hate this song but i always loved it.
@NeptuneNetwork
Working at B&M over Christmas, this song was the only thing keeping me sane.
@VealParmigiana
Excellent version of this song. Of course Joan Jett's version is by far the best, and my vote for best Christmas song of all time.