The song was not particularly successful when it was first released, likely due in part to the political climate of the time. It fared notably better when it was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary more than a decade later. Their cover of the song, released in August 1962, became a Top 10 hit.
The song has since been recorded by dozens of major artists, including a version by Trini Lopez on his 1963 album Trini Lopez at PJ's, which reached No. 3 in the USA, as well as one by Leonard Nimoy, which appeared on his 1968 release The Way I Feel. Australian folk group The Seekers also performed the song, and recorded it in 1963.
If I Had A Hammer
The Weavers Lyrics
Jump to: Line by Line Meaning ↴
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.
Once in a year, it is not thought amiss
To visit our neighbors and sing out like this.
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.
We want some figgy pudding
We want some figgy pudding
We want some figgy pudding
And a cup of good cheer.
We won′t go until we get some
We won't go until we get some,
We won′t go until we get some.
So bring it out here.
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.
Once in a year, it is not thought amiss
To visit our neighbors and sing out like this.
Of friendship and love, good neighbors abound
And peace and goodwill the whole year around.
Pace, frieden, salud, shalom,
The words mean the same, whatever your home.
Why can't we have Christmas
The whole year around?
Why can't we have Christmas
The whole year around?
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.
We wish you a merry Christmas
We express our desire for you to have a joyful Christmas celebration
We wish you a merry Christmas
We repeat our desire for you to have a joyful Christmas celebration
We wish you a merry Christmas
We reiterate our desire for you to have a joyful Christmas celebration
And a happy New Year.
We also express our desire for you to have a happy New Year
Once in a year, it is not thought amiss
It is not considered inappropriate or wrong to do something once a year
To visit our neighbors and sing out like this.
We are visiting our neighbors and singing Christmas carols
We want some figgy pudding
We express our desire for a specific type of Christmas dessert
We want some figgy pudding
We repeat our desire for a specific type of Christmas dessert
We want some figgy pudding
We reiterate our desire for a specific type of Christmas dessert
And a cup of good cheer.
We also desire a cheering drink
We won't go until we get some
We won't leave until we receive the specific Christmas dessert we desire
We won't go until we get some,
We repeat that we won't leave until we receive the specific Christmas dessert we desire
We won't go until we get some.
We reiterate that we won't leave until we receive the specific Christmas dessert we desire
So bring it out here.
We request that the specific Christmas dessert we desire be brought to us
Once in a year, it is not thought amiss
It is not considered inappropriate or wrong to do something once a year
To visit our neighbors and sing out like this.
We are visiting our neighbors and singing Christmas carols
Of friendship and love, good neighbors abound
There are many good neighbors who possess qualities of friendship and love
And peace and goodwill the whole year around.
These good neighbors promote a positive atmosphere of peace and goodwill throughout the whole year
Pace, frieden, salud, shalom,
We express the same sentiment of peace in different languages
The words mean the same, whatever your home.
No matter where you call home, the essence of peace is universal
Why can't we have Christmas
We question why we can't have the spirit of Christmas throughout the whole year
The whole year around?
We question why we can't have the spirit of Christmas throughout the whole year
We wish you a merry Christmas
We end as we began, expressing our desire for you to have a joyful Christmas celebration
We wish you a merry Christmas
We repeat our desire for you to have a joyful Christmas celebration
We wish you a merry Christmas
We reiterate our desire for you to have a joyful Christmas celebration
And a happy New Year.
We also express our desire for you to have a happy New Year
Writer(s): Paul Campbell, Traditional
Contributed by Jordyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@egreenbery
The vocal harmonies are so beautiful here, it brings tears to my eyes.
@AlternativeDrMom
We need to start singing this song again...as much as we can. God help us.
@ISO_-
If only you knew what was coming three years later
@NeverKnowinglyUndersouled
Lauren, you must have posted this shortly after that vile, disgusting, far right loon Donald Trump had been inexplicably voted into office - and I concur with your disdain.
@egreenbery
I think both the conservatives and the screwball leftist "progressive" democrats would hate that.
@andyhiggs6932
@Richard Lance Your attitude is the antithisis of the 'love between my brothers and sisters' mentioned in this song. It doesn't start with Trump, it starts with you.
@VintagePugs
I remember my dad use to sing me to sleep with this song. I miss those simple times.
@JohnCortelli
This is the song we always listened to at Salkehatchie. It fit the job description perfectly. :) It got us ready to work every morning. It is surprising what a group of highschool kids could do in one week that a construction worker couldn't do in one month. The construction worker changes the building, Salkehatchie does the same, but we change the life of the person living in the building. :) Praise the lord.
@PeachyFlee
Beautiful! There's nothing better than a classic
@BrockenSpecter
@winggoddess Lee Hays and Pete Seeger, both of the Weavers, wrote this song in 1949. No version of it existed before then. Lee wrote it with the words "all of my brothers". Libby Frank convinced him, in 1952, to begin singing "my brothers and my sisters". Trust me on this, I'm a big Weavers fan, and they definitely were the first to do the song! This rendition is from their 1963 reunion concert, but they cut two versions in 1949. I have both of them. All the other versions are covers.