December 9th
Christmas is Coming - a traditional Yuletide nursery rhyme (Anonymous). This is another verse taken from the children’s collection Read Me that I mentioned previously on the Advent Calendar.
Do exactly as it says on the label…
As with many old rhymes, there are several different versions. Some say ‘goose‘ instead of ‘geese’ and some have ‘Please do put’ in place of ‘Please to put’ and so on. I did a YouTube trawl and, not surprisingly many singers have recorded Christmas is Coming in its several versions (including one by John Denver and The Muppets). The clip I have posted below is not a sung rendering of the verse, but a straightforward spoken one by someone whose name is only given as Andy.
I hope it makes you feel all Christmassy inside!
Christmas is coming,
The geese are getting fat,
Please to put a penny
In the old man’s hat.
If you haven’t got a penny,
A ha’penny will do;
If you haven’t got a ha’penny,
Then God bless you!
I hope you were joining in at the back there…
Many thanks to Andy who uploaded this video to YouTube exactly two years ago, on 9th December 2010.
