Some Hilarious Christmas Songs

Cassi Misciagna, Feature Editor

Christmas Carols are inescapable parts of the holiday season, and although classics like “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” or “White Christmas” are staples of the time period, other lesser known carols can also be used to spread joy this holiday season. Here are some carols that help to add a little bit of humor to your singing.

  • “12 Pains of Christmas” by Bob Rivers is a creative way the performer expressed his impatience for the holidays. Much like the original “Twelve Days of Christmas” carol, the song starts off with one singular item and gradually increases the amount to twelve, yet, by paying close attention to the tone of the characters, the listener can hear their surmounting anger. Within the song there is an apparent contrast of the gleeful calm group singing the lines first and last segments of the chain, and the people actually having to live through such madding activities which only adds to the songs humorous nature.

 

  • David Deboy’s “Crabs for Christmas” has become Maryland’s holiday theme song. The tune was written in 1981 originally as a joke, but after its release to the public in 2001 it was blasted all around Maryland-based radio stations. Through the singer’s artificial twangy voice and odd story about a man from Baltimore sitting on Santa’s lap begging for crab, the song won people’s hearts throughout the state. Today, the song is a staple of the holidays in Maryland, with people all around buying Deboy’s Crabs for Christmas and Crabs for Christmas Live albums each year to enjoy both that song and some of his other less popular Baltimore-themed carols.

 

  • “Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo” is a tune based off of the traditional Hallmark jingles the world has come to know and love like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and was created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker for South Park‘s first Christmas special. The song mocks the numerous amounts of Christmas mascots created each year, however, the character in question soon became a mascot for the holiday in his own right, with seasonal figures being sold as South Park merchandise. In the tune, the gleeful singer describes in immense detail the origins of Mr. Hanky through a less than politically correct song.

 

  • When performing in front of a group confusion can ensue, however, in the case of Straight No Chaser’s “Twelve Days of Christmas”, the band intentionally mixes up the “Classic Twelve Days of Christmas” carol. As a result, the acapella band creates a unique medley of various tunes without ever straying too far from the original song, while also working in references to all kinds tunes. The natural feel the singers give to the song also helps add to the improv-like nature of their performance.

 

  • S3RL’s “Generic Holiday Song”, featuring Sara, is a dubstep remix of “I Don’t Want a Lot for Christmas is You” originally created by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff. The rhythm was made with the intent of mocking political correctness by taking the word Christmas and constantly replaced with the words “generic holiday”, as if to censor the word. With a robotic voice overlaying the singular word, the flow of the tune is constantly broken to show how ridiculous political correctness can sometimes become in everyday life.

 

  • For many, Santa going down a chimney is not thought of in a realistic manner, however, “The Chimney Song” by Bob Rivers shows the event in a realistic way. Through the use of a small child, the artist only intensifies the humor as the ignorant toddler complains about never seeing Santa, despite waiting all year and an odd blockage in the family’s chimney flue. Once the girl is finally told that the blockage is Santa, her reaction is also unexpected as she exclaims with joy that the family can have him there every Christmas.

 

  • Weird Al Yankovic is a well know parody and joke song writer, and his “Christmas at Ground Zero” tune surely does display his particular brand of unexpected humor. In the song, he talks about how the world is at war with nukes being fired throughout the country, yet people are still preparing Christmas in their usual festive way. As a result, the contrast which is heard both in the song, and displayed in its corresponding video creates a humorous and unexpected scene.

 

  • “The Christmas Rhapsody” is a parody song of “The Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen written by Steve Rosenthal and Time Walters for Christmas. Like the original, there is a distinct rock feel within the song as the singers talk about a child who frets about getting coal from Santa, leading to the tune feeling out of place when listening to other more mellow or gleeful sounding tunes. However, its unique sound when compared to other seasonal tunes, gives the melody its own personal flavor.

Throughout the holiday season there are plenty of festive tunes being played on the radio, television, and being sold at stores, so I hope this list helps to add a bit of variety to your holiday playlist. Enjoy!