Christmas Song of the Day
Snoopy has his own Christmas song. How did I live this long and not hear about this until today? It’s both uplifting and kinda creepy: the Red Baron let’s Snoopy live on Xmas, but they both know they will meet again and try to kill each other. A bit harsh for a kids’ tune, I think. It kinda freaked the eight year old out in the car this afternoon. But still: it’s a Snoopy Christmas song about the horrors of war. How can you not love it?
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
[Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree]
du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
[Of all the trees most lovely]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.Twas 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 manThe 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 manThe 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, my 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 manChristmas bells those Christmas bells
Ringing through the land
Bringing peace to all the world
And good will to man
Yes, how did you not know about this?
tgirsch´s last blog ..Derek Jeter, Success, and Ayn Rand Fantasies
And for what it’s worth, I don’t think it was intended to be a kids’ song.
tgirsch´s last blog ..Derek Jeter, Success, and Ayn Rand Fantasies
Just in passing: “Du kannst mir sehr gefallen” actually translates to something like “You please me very much” and could be loosely taken to mean “You make me very happy.” Ain’t nothin’ about “lovely tree” in that line.
LarryE´s last blog ..Second sight, two
Tgirsch and Larry beat me on both the comments I wanted to make.
I don’t think this was an “official” Snoopy song – just a novelty song somebody recorded. I think I hear it at least once every holiday season. And yes, it’s weird and the translation is off.
They actually got sued for recording the first one, and lost, and Schulz and UFS got all the royalties from the record. But they did several Snoopy songs, subsequent ones with Schulz’s permission.
tgirsch´s last blog ..The New Face of the GOP
It seems to be a re-make of their famous Snoopy vs. The Red Baron…
(Goo Search- lyrics: the bloody red baron of germany)