Houston began singing at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. Hit singles from the albums, including "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", established her as a catalyst in the acceptance of black female artists on MTV. Her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), yielded two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, the title track and "All the Man That I Need". Houston's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 received widespread media coverage.
Houston made her acting debut with the romantic thriller film The Bodyguard (1992), which despite its mixed reviews became the tenth highest-grossing film to that date. Its soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and remains the bestselling soundtrack album of all time. It generated multiple hit singles, including "I Have Nothing", "I'm Every Woman" and "I Will Always Love You"; the latter won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, spent a then-record 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. Subsequently, she went on to star in the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996), and she recorded their respective soundtracks; the former scored her last Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", while the latter, produced by Houston herself, became the bestselling gospel album of all time. As a film producer, she produced multicultural movies and series such as Cinderella (1997) and The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls.
Houston's first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love (1998), spawned several hit singles, including the title track, "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right but It's Okay" and the Academy Award-winning Mariah Carey duet "When You Believe". Following the success, she renewed her contract with Arista for $100 million in 2001, one of the biggest recording deals of all time. However, her personal problems began to overshadow her career. Her 2002 studio album, Just Whitney, received mixed reviews, while her drug use and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown received widespread media coverage. After divorcing Brown, Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 chart with her final studio album, I Look to You (2009). In February 2012, Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards, which took place the day following her death, and was covered internationally. Her life and career were dramatized in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Her assets amounted to $250 million, earned over a 25-year career.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston
Discography
Whitney Houston (1985)
Whitney (1987)
I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990)
My Love Is Your Love (1998)
Just Whitney (2002)
One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003)
I Look to You (2009)
Little Drummer Boy
Whitney Houston 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 (rest my baby)
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, yeah
Come on
Mother Mary, ooh pa rum pum pum pum, pa rum pum, pa rum pum, pa pum pum
Yeah, pa rum pa pum pum, playing on my drum
Ooh, pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pum, pa rum pum, ah pum pum
Yeah pa rum pa pa pam, playing 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
Oh yeah
Me and my (me and my drum)
Drum drum drum drum
Mary nodded pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
Then he smiled at me, he smiled at me
On my, on my, on my drum
Me and my, me and my, me and my drum, drum, drum
Oh yeah
Playing for Jesu, playing for Jesu, playing my drum
Pa rum pa pa pum, Pa rum pa pa pum
Playing on my drum, playing on my drum, pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa, pa rum pa, pa rum pa pa pum
Pa rum pa, pa rum pa
Ooh, rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa, pa rum pa, pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa, pa rum pa pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa pa pum
The lyrics of "Little Drummer Boy" by Whitney Houston describe the story of a young boy who goes to see baby Jesus but does not have any gifts to offer him. The boy then offers to play his drum to honor the newborn king. The song is a narrative of innocence and love, and the message of the song is about how everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, can offer something to God, even if it's just a simple gesture.
The lyrics begin with the invitation given to the boy to come see the newborn king. The boy then feels inadequate to be there since he has no gifts to offer. The next lines express how he wants to show respect for the king and offer something of himself, even though all he has is his drum. The rest of the song describes how the boy plays his drum for the baby Jesus, and Mary, the ox, and the lamb keep time with his rhythm.
The song is a beautiful and inspiring story. It shows that even the simplest and humblest of things can be meaningful if done with love and faith. The character of the boy who gives all he has to honor the king is a reminder that showing kindness and generosity is more important than material possessions.
Line by Line Meaning
Come, they told me pa-rum pum pum pum
People informed me to go with them to see the newborn king, and I acknowledge with a 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
Our newborn king to see, pa-rum pum pum pum
We want to visit our newborn King and pay respect to him with a 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum pum pum pum
We bring our best and most precious gifts to lay before the king with a 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
To lay before the king pa-rum pum pum pum
Our intention is to present the best offerings before our king with a 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
A repeated and symbolic beat of the drum that accompanies each verse
So to honor him pa rum pum pum pum
We play our drums with respect to honor the king
Baby Jesu pa rum pum pum pum
Addressing the newborn king with reverence with drumbeats of 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I, too, am a poor boy and don't have anything valuable to offer except for my drumbeat of 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
I have no gift to bring pa rum pum pum pum
I have nothing to present except my drum and its sound of 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
That's fit to give our king pa rum pum pum pum
My drumbeat of 'pa-rum pum pum pum' is suitable and appropriate to give to our king
Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum
As I have nothing else to offer, I ask permission to play my drumbeat of 'pa-rum pum pum pum' for the king
On my drum, yeah
I offer to play my humble drum as a token of respect and love for the king
Mother Mary, ooh pa rum pum pum pum, pa rum pum, pa rum pum, pa pum pum
I acknowledge Mother Mary with drumbeats of 'pa-rum pum pum pum, pa-rum pum pum pum, and pa pum pum'
Mary nodded pa rum pum pum pum
Mother Mary agrees with and acknowledges my humble drumbeat of 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
The ox and lamb kept time pa rum pum pum pum
Even the animals seem to join in the beat of the drum with their movements and sound accompaniments
I played my drum for him pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum to honor and show love to the king with 'pa-rum pum pum pum'
I played my best for him pa rum pum pum pum
I played the best drumbeat of 'pa-rum pum pum pum' that I could, to show respect and devotion to the king
Then he smiled at me pa rum pum pum pum
The king, in response to my drumbeat of 'pa-rum pum pum pum', smiled at me in appreciation and gratitude
Me and my drum
It is not about the drum but about the willingness to provide what one has in honoring the King
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, INTERNATIONAL KORWIN CORP, Anthem Entertainment, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harry Simeone, Henry Onorati, Katherine Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lusine Azaryan
Come, they told me pa-rum pum pum pum
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 (rest my baby)
Baby Jesu pa rum pum pum pum
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, yeah
Come on
Mother Mary, ooh pa rum pum pum pum, pa rum pum, pa rum pum, pa pum pum
Yeah, pa rum pa pum pum, playing on my drum
Ooh, pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pum, pa rum pum, ah pum pum
Yeah pa rum pa pa pam, playing 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
Oh yeah
Me and my (me and my drum)
Drum drum drum drum
Mary nodded pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
Then he smiled at me, he smiled at me
On my, on my, on my drum
Me and my, me and my, me and my drum, drum, drum
Oh yeah
Playing for Jesu, playing for Jesu, playing my drum
Pa rum pa pa pum, Pa rum pa pa pum
Playing on my drum, playing on my drum, pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa, pa rum pa, pa rum pa pa pum
Pa rum pa, pa rum pa
Ooh, rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa, pa rum pa, pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa, pa rum pa pa rum pa pa pum, pa rum pa pa pum
Christmas Songs
Thumbs up if you love Christmas!
L Lewis
I love Christmas
KellyLoves Dior
2020 Baby!
Kaelor Gordon
Getting ready for Christmas with this beautiful song ❤️🎄 My favorite part is, "He smiled at me, He smiled at me;" encourages me every time 🙏🏾
Scorpiocracy
That's definitely my favorite part too. It made women cry a few times.
Manda Andrea
I almost play it all year round LOL but it hits different around this time of the year❤❤
Moss Moore
Best female vocalist I’ve ever heard
Mark Milan Macanas
Whitney Houston was, is, and always will be The Greatest Voice of All.
MoroMoro
One of my favorite Christmas songs. So beautiful!
Nikiki Jackson
Her voice was so Angelica. Rip we miss you 💙