Music Vlog - Lyrics Blog #13: Christmas Songs 07 - I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
Hi Steemit,
Christmas is getting closer, today is December 7th, and there are still a lot of great Christmas tunes out there. Inspirational one, loved ones, hated ones, new ones, old ones, religious ones, ridiculous ones, slow ones, fast ones, sweet ones and funny ones, like this one:
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
Here comes the original:
and another animated version:
Here are the lyrics:
I want a hippopotamus for christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky tinkertoy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think santa claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door
That's the easy thing to do
I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there
I want a hippopotamus for christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too
Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian
There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage
I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Stay steemed!
Love, Unity & Abundance
Holger
Little known fact. The musical video was a winning submission of a promotional campaign by a zoo to raise money to acquire a hippopotamus for their venue.
Thank you for this information!
Are you talking about the original?! Interesting topic: How, or for what reason new Christmas Songs are created ...
Yes. I did some more research on this. When I first heard this song, the radio station stated that the city zoo in Ponca city, Oklahoma was in need of funding to purchase a hippo for their zoo. So they put on a campaign to raise money. This was never truly verified. The song became a major hit and, as a joke, a baby hippo "Matilda" was given to Gayla Peevey, who promptly donated it to the zoo. Matilda lived there for fifty years. In 1960 Peevey stated that it was not part of a fund raising campaign. The legend is still widely accepted today, as there is no other reason why someone would write such a ridiculous song
It really fabulous, how things fit together! My daughter (2 years) is called Matilda.
And yes, who would write such a ridiculous, though cute song, sung by a child?! But nevertheless, it became a major hit, for a zoo in Ponca city, that even Americans hardly know.