♫ Snoopy’s Christmas ♫

Posted on by under cartoons, Global Issues, History, Holidays, music

As I said this morning, I plan to set aside my political snark through Christmas, so this is another favourite holiday tune that I have played a few years before.  I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music, for most of it has a religious theme, but there are a few songs that stick in my head this time of year, and this is one of them!  Anybody have suggestions for others?

Last night, when I played Snoopy Vs The Red Baron, I noted that I was a bit confused about which song rawgod had requested, that one, or Snoopy’s Christmas.  Turns out, I got it wrong the first time, and it was actually this one, Snoopy’s Christmas, that he was asking for!

This song is a follow-up to Snoopy Vs The Red Baron, in which Snoopy is a fighter pilot. In Snoopy’s Christmas, The Red Baron decides not to shoot Snoopy down, but forces him to land and gives him a Christmas gift.

Although fictitious, the song is set against the backdrop of a legitimate historical event. During World War I, in 1914, “The Christmas Truce” was initiated not by German and British commanders, but by the soldiers themselves. The length of the cease-fire varied by location, and was reported to have been as brief as Christmas Day or as long as the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Trench-bound combatants exchanged small gifts across the lines, with Germans giving beer to the British, who sent tobacco and tinned meat back in return. No Man’s Land was cleared of dead bodies, trenches were repaired and drained, and troops from both sides shared pictures of their families and, in some places, used No Man’s Land for friendly games of football.  There is a song about this event that I will be playing later this week.xmas-SnoopySnoopy’s Christmas reached the No. 1 position in the New Zealand and Australia singles charts in 1967, and remains a popular Christmas song in those countries. The song was the fastest-selling single at the time it was originally released and is estimated to be the biggest selling overseas single sold in New Zealand in the 20th century.  Snoopy’s Christmas was also voted “the worst Christmas song of all time” by readers of the New Zealand Herald in 2007.

Snoopy’s Christmas
The Royal Guardsmen

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum
Do kannst mir sehr gefallen!

The news had come out in the First World War
The bloody Red Baron was flying once more
The Allied command ignored all of its men
And called on Snoopy to do it again

Was the night before Christmas, 40 below
When Snoopy went up in search of his foe
He spied the Red Baron, fiercely they fought
With ice on his wings Snoopy knew he was caught

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ring out from the land
Asking peace of all the world
And good will to man

The Baron had Snoopy dead in his sights
He reached for the trigger to pull it up tight
Why he didn’t shoot, well, we’ll never know
Or was it the bells from the village below?

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

The Baron made Snoopy fly to the Rhine
And forced him to land behind the enemy lines
Snoopy was certain that this was the end
When the Baron cried out, “Merry Christmas, mein friend!”

The Baron then offered a holiday toast
And Snoopy, our hero, saluted his host
And then with a roar they were both on their way
Each knowing they’d meet on some other day

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man

Christmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land

Songwriters: Luigi Creatore / Hugo Peretti / George David Weiss
Snoopy’s Christmas lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, Concord Music Publishing LLC, Music Sales Corporation, Barbara Schwartz Music

29 thoughts on “♫ Snoopy’s Christmas ♫”

  3. Please forgive, yet again, my lack of good manners ( if you can’t say something nice, etc.) but this song is not even in my top 100 favorite Christmas songs! I must admit that the history of the song, as you have written, is indeed interesting…as is the background story of the performers going from a group name of “Posmen” to the name of their guitar amplifier “The Royal Guardsmen”. You requested a list of suggestions and though mine would include entire albums, I will attempt to limit my list to a few songs :
    1) Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy by Bing Crosby & David Bowie – how can one not love this song given the history of its origin?
    2) Where Are You Christmas? Faith Hill – the less than 2 minute performance known as “Christmas, Why Can’t I Find You?” in the Grinch movie by Taylor Momsen is my favorite version.
    3) Light One Candle by Peter, Paul & Mary – not a Christmas song but it is on their “A Holiday Celebration” album and I love it!
    4) Suzy Snowflake by Rosemary Clooney – this is a treasured memory from my childhood.
    5) Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid – no explanation needed, right?
    6) Last Christmas by Wham! – no explanation comes to mind, but I still love it.
    I could go on and on but in the interest of saving your time, strength and endurance for my P for L you may consider this the end.
    WHAK!! Thank-you!

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    • No need to apologize at all, my friend! We all have different tastes in music and I don’t ever expect everyone to like the same songs I like! Now … about your list … I recognize #1, #2, #5, and #6, but don’t think I recall #3 and #4, so I will check those out. Thank you, though, for the reminder about #5, which I typically do play at this time of the year as it carries a valuable message. Love you, dear Ellen! WHAK!!!

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  5. I love Snoopy’s Christmas; I got that album when I was a kid. I invite you to check out two posts of mine from earlier this month: Some Requests for Your Carolers, and More Requests for Your Carolers, for some secular songs I like.

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  7. I think they might justifiably be accused of milking it with this one! I’m looking forward to seeing your post with a serious song about the WW1 truce: you’ve already played the excellent Mike Harding so you’ll have to go some to beat that! Have a happy, restful Christmas 😊

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  8. Pingback: Snoppy’s Christmas. | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

  9. Anybody have suggestions for others?

    One of my all-time favorites is of course the famous Dr. Seuss’ You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch. I love it so much because of EXACTLY what you mention Jill: “I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music, for most of it has a religious theme…” and this timeless classic is certainly not religious in the least. Bravo! Three cheers for Dr. Seuss’ Grinch! 😉

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    • When you hear it hundreds of times in the weeks leading up to Christmas for nearly 40 years, you develop a slightly different perspective. As Jill points out, here in Aotearoa New Zealand it was the highest selling overseas record not just in the year it was released but in the entire 20th century, and has returned to the singles chart on three occasions since its original release.

      It has a catchy tune and the story is very poignant to Kiwis as even though we were on the opposite side of the world, the First World War had a profound effect on the NZ psyche. I enjoy the song the first few times I hear it each season but gradually it loses its appeal, and by Xmas day I find myself grinding my teeth each time I hear it.

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    • I love it too, but I only hear it once or twice during December each year … I suppose that, like anything else, it could become tiresome if overplayed! Merry Christmas to you, Brad and the family, dear friend! Love you!

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