The Night Santa Went Crazy
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| “The Night Santa Went Crazy” | |||||
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| Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic from the album Bad Hair Day |
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| B-side | "Christmas at Ground Zero" | ||||
| Released | November 26, 1996 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Recorded | December 1, 1994 | ||||
| Genre | Comedy | ||||
| Length | 3:59 | ||||
| Label | Scotti Brothers | ||||
| Producer | "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | |||||
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| Bad Hair Day track listing | |||||
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"The Night Santa Went Crazy" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic.
The song borrows on several inspirations. The melody (particularly the chorus, introductory and closing melody and the coda) bears a strong resemblance to portions of the melody Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas," although not in the order of the original Lake tune. The song, however, is more often considered to be a style parody of Soul Asylum's 1992 single "Black Gold", and also appears to mimic the tune of metallica's Hero of the Day. Further more, the opening guitar intro sounds similar to Ozzy Osbourne's "Mama, I'm Coming Home."
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
The following tracks are on the promo single:
- "The Night Santa Went Crazy" – 3:59
- "Christmas at Ground Zero" – 3:07
[edit] Synopsis
The song starts with Santa's elves making Christmas presents for gentile children. Suddenly, a drunken Santa bursts in with a rifle in his hand, and covered with ammunition. He then proceeds to destroy the North Pole, bombing the workshop, tying up the elves, and killing 7 of the 9 reindeer (Donner and Vixen were spared) in various gruesome ways. The National Guard and FBI come to restore order, with the Eyewitness News broadcasting the incident and the ensuing battle between Santa and the government forces. Finally, Santa is arrested and put in jail for 700 years, while one of the surviving reindeer gets therapy and the other is "still nervous". The elves get jobs working for the postal service, and Mrs. Claus negotiates film rights.
[edit] Alternate Versions
- An "Extra Gory" version was made and released on the single for Amish Paradise. It differs in that Santa is killed instead of imprisoned ("Yes, Virginia, now Santa Claus is dead, Some guy from the S.W.A.T team blew a hole through his head") and the elves are unemployed while Mrs. Claus still negotiates movie rights. This version is the particularly favored version of Dr. Demento, who regularly plays it on his Christmas shows.
- Another version was written for the Touring with Scissors tour in 1999. It differs from the original version with Santa being killed but the elves all getting jobs. It can be seen on the "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! concert video.
[edit] Notes
- There was a parody of this song entitled "The Day Alfred Went Weird" written by Tony Goldmark.[1]
- In the song, a voice on the radio can be heard saying "You there, in the red suit, put down your weapon".
- At about 2:25 various noises can be heard in the background: gunshots, screams, sirens, and a voice on a radio (see above). This is very similar to "Black Gold", where at about 1:56 ambulance sirens, screams, cries, and a newscast can be heard.
- The line 'Yes Virginia, now Santa's doing time...' is an allusion to the Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus letter.
[edit] See also
- List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic
- List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.dqydj.com/tony/masterpieceweirder.htm Masterpiece Weirder by Tony Goldmark
