Songs
Over the years, Santa Claus has inspired several songs and even orchestral works. As early as 1853, Louis Antoine Jullien composed an orchestral piece titled Santa Claus which premiered to mixed reviews in New York that year . More popular, well-known songs about Santa Claus (mostly sung by children) include:
- "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (1979), by Randy Brooks, recorded by Elmo Shropshire and Patsy Trigg
- "Here Comes Santa Claus" (1947), by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman
- "I Believe in Father Christmas", by Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield
- "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", with music and lyrics by Tommie Connor, originally recorded by Jimmy Boyd on 15 July 1952
- "It's Christmas (All Over The World)" (1985), by Bill House and John Hobbs and sung by Sheena Easton, from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Santa Claus: The Movie
- "Jolly Old St. Nicholas", traditional
- "Little Saint Nick", by Brian Wilson, performed by The Beach Boys
- "The Night Santa Went Crazy" (1996), by "Weird Al" Yankovic (satire)
- "Santa Baby" (1953) by Joan Javits, Philip Springer, and Tony Springer, performed by Eartha Kitt
- "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (1935), by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie
- "Up on the Housetop", traditional
Read more about this topic: Santa Claus In Northern American Culture
Famous quotes containing the word songs:
“Let me make the superstitions of a nation and I care not who makes its laws or its songs either.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“And our sov’reign sole Creator
Lives eternal in the sky,
While we mortals yield to nature,
Bloom awhile, then fade and die.”
—Unknown. “Hail ye sighing sons of sorrow,” l. 13-16, Social and Campmeeting Songs (1828)
“When we were at school we were taught to sing the songs of the Europeans. How many of us were taught the songs of the Wanyamwezi or of the Wahehe? Many of us have learnt to dance the rumba, or the cha cha, to rock and roll and to twist and even to dance the waltz and foxtrot. But how many of us can dance, or have even heard of the gombe sugu, the mangala, nyang’umumi, kiduo, or lele mama?”
—Julius K. Nyerere (b. 1922)