18
The Little Drummer Boy
76 Points, 3 Lists, Highest Vote: #3 Adrenaline
by: Katherine Kennicott Davis (songwriter)
Year of Release: 1941
Type:
Originally referred to as “Carol of the Drum”, The Little Drummer Boy is a song written in 1941 and may have loosely been based on an old Czechoslovakian Christmas carol, Hajej, nynej (or The Rocking Song). The song was inspired by a French song as well, Patapan about the shepherds making music with simple instruments like flutes and drums. Listening to the song, Katherine Kennicott Davis translated it in her mind to pa-rum-pa-pum-pum. She decided to use it as material for Girls’ Choirs and the song ended up getting the attention of the Trapp Family Singers, who released it as a single. The song details a young drummer who appears during the Nativity scene and with no gift for the Messiah, he simply plays his drum, which turns out to be a worthy gift.
As a kid, The Little Drummer Boy was, bar none, my favourite song. I wanted to hear “pa-rum-pa-pum-pum” and chance I got, which is clearly the best part of the song. As an older man, I still care for this one, I love the way it builds and the way the drumming sound gives it… propulsion? If that makes sense. The tale therein is fine but to me it’s the way the song moves. It’s so simple and almost, to me at any rate, primal, as basic as a thumping in the chest. I feel like there are a bunch of ways to do this one because the throughline is so strong on this one.
Other Covers
Harry Simeone Choir
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
Here’s an odd one
I had trouble finding an “odd” one so instead, this is the one I grew up with.
Christmas Creep take
Serious, they never did a muppets cover? Animal is, like, right there!