A Christmas Carol
Tom Lehrer Lyrics


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One very familiar type of song is the christmas carol. although it is perhaps a bit out of season at this time. however, I'm informed by my "disk jockey" friends - of whom I have none,
In order to get a song popular by christmas time, you have to start plugging it well in advance. so here goes. it has always seemed to me after all. that christmas, with it's spirit of giving, o
Us all a wonderful opportunity each year to reflect on what we all most sincerely and deeply believe in.

I refer of course, to money. and yet none of the christmas carols that you hear on the radio or in the street, even attempt to capture the true spirit of christmas as we celebrate it in the unit
Ates. that is to say the commercial spirit. so I should like to offer the following christmas carol for next year, as being perhaps a bit more appropriate.

Christmas time is here, by golly,
Disapproval would be folly,
Deck the halls with hunks of holly,
Fill the cup and don't say "when."
Kill the turkeys, ducks and chickens,
Mix the punch, drag out the dickens,
Even though the prospect sickens,
Brother, here we go again.

On christmas day you can't get sore,
Your fellow man you must adore,
There's time to rob him all the more
The other three hundred and sixty-four.

Relations, sparing no expense'll
Send some useless old utensil,
Or a matching pen and pencil.
"just the thing I need! how nice!"
It doesn't matter how sincere it
Is, nor how heartfelt the spirit,
Sentiment will not endear it,
What's important is the price.

Hark the herald tribune sings,
Advertising wondrous things.
God rest ye merry, merchants,
May you make the yuletide pay.
Angels we have heard on high
Tell us to go out and buy!

So let the raucous sleigh bells jingle,
Hail our dear old friend kris kringle,
Driving his reindeer across the sky.




Don't stand underneath when they fly by.
Actually I did rather well myself, this last christmas. the nicest present I received was a gift certificate "good at any hospital for a lobotomy". rather thoughtful.

Overall Meaning

Tom Lehrer's song "A Christmas Carol" is a satirical commentary on the commercialization of Christmas. With biting wit and sarcastic humor, Lehrer calls attention to the fact that the true spirit of Christmas has become overshadowed by the financial aspects of the holiday season.


Lehrer points out that Christmas is a time for giving, but instead of focusing on the joy of giving, he suggests that the real spirit of Christmas is all about money. He pokes fun at the commercialization of Christmas through lyrics like, "Hark the herald tribune sings, Advertising wondrous things. God rest ye merry, merchants, May you make the yuletide pay."


Lehrer also takes aim at the gift-giving culture of Christmas, suggesting that people often give gifts out of obligation rather than sincerity or generosity. He sings, "It doesn't matter how sincere it is, nor how heartfelt the spirit, Sentiment will not endear it, What's important is the price."


Line by Line Meaning

One very familiar type of song is the christmas carol. although it is perhaps a bit out of season at this time. however, I'm informed by my "disk jockey" friends - of whom I have none,
To get a Christmas song to become popular, we have to start promoting it in advance. Despite it being not the season, my DJ friends let me know about it, although I don't have any DJ friends.


In order to get a song popular by christmas time, you have to start plugging it well in advance. so here goes. it has always seemed to me after all. that christmas, with it's spirit of giving, o
To make the song familiar for Christmas, promotion has to begin many months earlier. Christmas is not just about giving but also about the spirit of money, which we all can deeply believe in.


Us all a wonderful opportunity each year to reflect on what we all most sincerely and deeply believe in.
Christmas provides an opportunity to reflect on money which is what we all most sincerely and deeply believe in.


I refer of course, to money. and yet none of the christmas carols that you hear on the radio or in the street, even attempt to capture the true spirit of christmas as we celebrate it in the unit
Money is the real meaning of Christmas, but none of the carols try to capture the commercial spirit, which is celebrated in the United States.


Ates. that is to say the commercial spirit. so I should like to offer the following christmas carol for next year, as being perhaps a bit more appropriate.
So here's a Christmas carol for next year, which captures the commercial spirit, and maybe it's a bit more appropriate.


Christmas time is here, by golly,
It's Christmas time, and it's exciting, by golly.


Disapproval would be folly,
It'd be foolish to disapprove.


Deck the halls with hunks of holly,
Decorate the halls with holly.


Fill the cup and don't say "when."
Drink without limit.


Kill the turkeys, ducks and chickens,
Kill the birds for dinner.


Mix the punch, drag out the dickens,
Make the punch and get the Dickens book out.


Even though the prospect sickens,
Even if this prospect makes us feel sickened.


Brother, here we go again.
Here we go again, brother.


On christmas day you can't get sore,
On Christmas day, one must not get angry.


Your fellow man you must adore,
We need to adore our fellow man.


There's time to rob him all the more
And, there's more time to take advantage of him.


The other three hundred and sixty-four.
For the rest of the year.


Relations, sparing no expense'll
Family members won't mind spending money like water.


Send some useless old utensil,
Send some useless utensil as a gift.


Or a matching pen and pencil.
Or send a matching pen and pencil, which is equally useless.


"Just the thing I need! how nice!"
"How nice! Just what I needed!"


It doesn't matter how sincere it
Whether it's genuine or not does not matter.


Is, nor how heartfelt the spirit,
Nor how much the spirit was felt.


Sentiment will not endear it,
Sentiment won't help it become dearer.


What's important is the price.
The price of the gift is what matters.


Hark the herald tribune sings,
Hark! The Herald Tribune sings.


Advertising wondrous things.
Advertising amazing things.


God rest ye merry, merchants,
May God give you rest, happy merchants.


May you make the yuletide pay.
Make the Yuletide profitable.


Angels we have heard on high
We've heard angels up in the sky.


Tell us to go out and buy!
And they tell us to go out and purchase.


So let the raucous sleigh bells jingle,
Let the jingling sleigh bells be loud.


Hail our dear old friend kris kringle,
Greet Kris Kringle.


Driving his reindeer across the sky.
While he's driving his reindeers in the sky.


Don't stand underneath when they fly by.
Don't stay beneath them when they fly over.


Actually I did rather well myself, this last christmas. the nicest present I received was a gift certificate "good at any hospital for a lobotomy". rather thoughtful.
Actually, Christmas was good for me last year. The most thoughtful gift I received was a certificate for a lobotomy from any hospital.




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CHARLES IVES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Isaac Mayer

The Droplett

Christmas time is here, by golly
Disapproval would be folly
Deck the halls with hunks of holly
Fill the cup and don't say when
Kill the turkeys, ducks, and chickens
Mix the punch, drag out the Dickens
Even though the prospect sickens,
Brother, here we go again

On Christmas Day, you can't get sore
Your fellow man you must adore
There's time to rob him all the more
The other three hundred and sixty-four

Relations, sparing no expense, 'll
Send some useless old utensil
Or a matching pen and pencil!
"Just the thing I need. How nice."
It doesn't matter how sincere it
Is, nor how heartfelt the spirit
Sentiment will not endear it
What's important is the price.

Hark, the Herald Tribune sings
Advertising wondrous things

God rest ye, merry merchants,
May ye make thy Yuletide pay

Angels we have heard on high
Tell us to go out and buy!

So...
Let the raucous sleighbells jingle
Hail our dear old friend Kris Kringle
Driving his reindeer across the sky
Don't stand underneath when they fly by!



All comments from YouTube:

Toshiro Dragon

Tom Lehrer is a national treasure.

Ann Bush

The most brilliant man of a generation, he combines Dorothy Parker’s caustic wit, Ogden Nash’s rhyming with his own high intellect and concert pianist level talents.
He has generously put these albums on the internet!

Sergei Ivanovich Mosin

I swear his songs will never stop being relevant

Michael Willis

This dude is both awesome/insane He was a mathematician by trade, and incidentally was brilliant at turning a tune.

oxyharmonic

I don't think he was insane in the slightest. this is the most sensible christmas song i've heard in ages.

6020e3

Fantastic. Tom Lehrer is such a brilliant satirist, too bad he is not known by too many people. You should also try Eric Idle's "Fuck Christmas", it always reminds me of Lehrer's song.

The Mad Librarian

Try "Christmas at the Airport" by Nick Lowe

Kathleen Ferguson

Wow. "Not too many people"?
I grew up on his music, and Everybody sang his stuff!

joyunicycle

My music teacher sang this and it was awesome to not only hear the audience of all ages laugh, but we were probably the only two in the whole building who knew who Tom Lehrer is!

Marcia Jacobs

Love him so much! Unbelievably brilliant!

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