Here Comes Santa Claus and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer!

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Here Comes Santa Claus and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer!—Our Favorite Christmas Songs

Many people think that Gene Autry, who popularized "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and made it the first Platinum—million selling—record (before the term "platinum" was even being used as a reference), also wrote the catchy song. He didn't. But he did write "Here Comes Santa Claus" with co-writer Oakley Haldeman. Thus, perhaps the confusion.

Christmas music is FUN and wonderfully nostalgic. Among our favorites on the FUN side is the hilariously off-beat "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" which seems to make the rounds every December on radio morning shows. "Grandma" was made a hit in 1979 by Dr. Elmo and his then-wife Patsy. "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" also inspired the wacky animated feature of the same name.

On the nostalgic side, who can make it through the Christmas season without humming the familiar refrain of the Irving Berlin classic (as popularized by the great Bing Crosby), "White Christmas."

White Christmas
(Words and Music by Irving Berlin)

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow,

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Then there are the modern Christmas songs. Charles Brown's "Please Come Home for Christmas" (also covered beautifully by The Eagles) and Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" top that list for our tastes.

Vince Guaraldi's brilliant Charlie Brown Christmas Specials tunes always set a festive mood.

And for those away from their loved ones during the holiday, Elvis singing "Blue Christmas" is always tear-jerker if you're feeling like a good cry.

Anyway, happy, sad, lonely, glad...Christmas just wouldn't be the same without the MUSIC! You can find all these great Christmas songs, and many more, on the CDs shown below. Happy Holidays!

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer Lyrics
[Editors note: This song was made famous by Elmo & Patsy and the web is chock full of info about them. But the song was written by Randy Brooks. If you can point us to biographical info on Randy Brooks, we would really appreciate it! HEY Randy gave us his story!]

Grandma got run over by a reindeer
Walking home from our house Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as Santa,
But as for me and Grandpa, we believe.

She'd been drinkin' too much egg nog,
And we'd begged her not to go.
But she'd left her medication,
So she stumbled out the door into the snow.
When they found her Christmas mornin',
At the scene of the attack.
There were hoof prints on her forehead,
And incriminatin' Claus marks on her back.

Grandma got run over by a reindeer,
Walkin' home from our house Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as Santa,
But as for me and Grandpa, we believe.

Now were all so proud of Grandpa,
He's been takin' this so well.
See him in there watchin' football,
Drinkin' beer and playin' cards with cousin Mel.
It's not Christmas without Grandma.
All the family's dressed in black.
And we just can't help but wonder:
Should we open up her gifts or send them back?

Grandma got run over by a reindeer,
Walkin' home from our house Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as Santa,
But as for me and Grandpa, we believe.

Now the goose is on the table
And the pudding made of fig.
And a blue and silver candle,
That would just have matched the hair in Grandma's wig.
I've warned all my friends and neighbours.
Better watch out for yourselves."
They should never give a license,
To a man who drives a sleigh and plays with elves.

Grandma got run over by a reindeer,
Walkin' home from our house, Christmas eve.
You can say there's no such thing as Santa,
But as for me and Grandpa, we believe.

From Amazon.com
"Anyone piqued, appalled, or otherwise puzzled by the offbeat Christmas tune that elbows its way onto the airwaves each year will be pleased to know there's now a movie-length explanation for the tale of gratuitous granny-bashing. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, an animated feature produced for video, puts everything straight: Grandma Spankenheimer, a universally adored shopkeeper in the bustling town of Cityville, is the victim of a Christmastime conspiracy masterminded by Cousin Mel, her money-grubbing granddaughter. When Grandma refuses to sell her store to Austin Bucks, the local fat cat, Mel, determined to make a fortune, poisons a batch of the silver-haired do-gooder's famous fruitcakes with reindeer nip, thus causing Rudolph and company to crash into her while making their Christmas Eve rounds. Soon there's an APB out on Santa, named the culprit of a hit-and-run and possible kidnapping (Grandma, nowhere to be found, is sidelined with a nasty case of amnesia in the North Pole). For kids 6 and older, this video's smirkiness isn't likely to overshadow its somewhat convoluted message about the holiday spirit, but in grownups what resounds is not the anti-greed and goodwill sentiments but the degree to which society has slunk into cynicism since the Grinch's heyday. Gary Chase serves up a spirited rendition of the title tune plus a handful of other nifty, off-the-wall Yuletide nuggets." --Tammy La Gorce

25 Top Christmas Songs - Easy Piano Songbook (simplified piano/vocal arrangements ) for voice and easy piano. 80 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.490058)
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