03. CHRISTMAS IS A-COMING by Lead Belly
Vocal with twelve-string guitar.
New York City, 1940s.

Christmas is a-coming and it's a-jumping
Christmas is a-coming and it's a-jumping
Christmas is a-coming and it's a-jumping
Boy it won't be long

Chicken crows at midnight on a Christmas Day
Rooster crows at midnight on a Christmas Day
Children get so happy on a Christmas Day
Children get so happy on a Christmas Day

Santa Claus coming and he's a coming
Santa Claus coming and he's a coming
Santa Claus coming and he's a coming
Boy an' it won't be long

Santa Claus comes on Christmas on a Christmas Day
Santa Claus comes on Christmas on a Christmas Day
Children run and tell their pappy on a Christmas Day
Children run and tell their pappy on a Christmas Day
Little children get so happy on a Christmas Day
Little children get so happy on a Christmas Day

Don't forget it

Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter, 1889-1949) was a recovering ex-con who became a formidable presence in the Manhattan folk scene of the 1940s. His minstrelsy was often enjoyed by small children; this semi-spontaneous piece assured them that neither Santa nor their fathers would forget them at Christmas.

In Act I Scene 1 of Hamlet, one of the guards comments on the same idea that at Christmas the rooster crows in the night and makes the time holy. Click here for the excerpt.

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