IF YOU'RE GOOD
Santa Claus will come to-night,
If you're good,
And do what you know is right,
As you should.
Down the chimney he will creep,
Bringing you a woolly sheep,
And a doll that goes to sleep,
If you're good.
Santa Claus will drive his sleigh
Through the wood,
But he'll come around this way,
If you're good,
With a wind-up bird that sings,
And a puzzle made of rings;
He will bring you cars that go,
If you're good
Jumping-jacks and funny things,
If you're good,
And a rocking-horse, Oh, oh!
If you're good.
And a dolly that can sneeze;
That says "Mamma!" when you squeeze;
He'll bring you one of these,
If you're good.
Santa grieves when you are bad.
As he should;
But it makes him very glad
When you're good;
He is wise and he's a dear;
Just do right and never fear;
He'll remember you each year,
If you're good.
Friday, December 10, 2021
If You're Good
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My dad sang this song to us every year. I am 71 years old and have been searching for any reference to the song for years. Do you know who wrote it?
ReplyDeleteLet me look for a day...
ReplyDeleteO.k. I found it in less than five minutes. This poem was published for school children to learn to perform and recite in public school Christmas programs. It was published in a large collection dated from 1910. This means it is actually older than 1910 and referred to as "an old favorite" by the company that republished it in that year. (Owen Publishing Company) A specific author was not given credit in the publication, but many other are. This implies that the author could be forgotten or could have remained anonymous. A child sent it into an Australian newspaper in 1939 claiming to have written it but "she" was naughty for it was published long before she was even born!
ReplyDeleteI believe that later stanzas were written for this little poem and added to it over time because the earliest dolls that could be squeezed and say "Mamma" were invented in the 1920s and 30s. However, the child that sent the poem into a newspaper and claimed to have written it in 1939, did not include the stanza about the "talking squeeze box."
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