Christmas Cheer – Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey!

Every year there’s always a fierce battle for the number one Christmas song. This year, in the UK at least, it seems that Little Mix, the X-Factor winners, may take the Christmas No 1 crown. However, there’s competition from Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and a strange song called Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey.

You have to listen to this funny song because it goes against the all too serious nature of pop music. Try not to pay much attention to the video, it’s pretty pants, but the song…oh the song is so cool!

I’m a big fan of silly happy songs reaching No 1 in the charts at Christmas!

Too often the music industry is hell-bent on pushing a certain artist to the top of the charts to amass mega money. I don’t give two shits if the song has a Christmassy theme, or has a good video, it’s there to make serious amounts of cash and has nothing to do with the spirit of Christmas.

Whereas Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey oozes happy Christmasness in every note!

I love Christmas, the presents, family and friends, good times, turkey, snoozing elderly folk in front of the TV and everything in between. But I also love a good theme tune that when heard years later I can say: “Oh yeah, I remember that year, it was when [insert funny anecdote here] and Dominick the Italian Donkey was No 1!”

Sure Christmas can be about whatever you want, a time to rejoice in your faith, spend time with loved ones, reflect on those who have passed on and give thanks to what we have and consider those less fortunate than ourselves. But it can also be a time for fun and frivolity, and in that respect why not raise a glass to little Dominick and how he helped Santa climb those hills of Italeee!

Some interesting facts about the song taken from YouTube:

• It was written by Ray Allen and Lou Monte and first sung by Lou Monte in 1960. For decades the song was only occasionally heard. It was perceived to be too novel for the softer music stations and too old or corny for CHR/Top 40 stations.
• But beginning in the early 1990′s, more contemporary artists began to record Christmas music. As a result, younger skewing radio stations began to feature more Christmas music on their stations, even going wall to wall on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
• While there were more Top 40 core artists doing Christmas music by 1992, the stations still needed to play older artists to supplement the newer Christmas music. A few stations found this song and began mixing it into their Christmas rotations.
• The song got very positive feedback and as a result, this song began to gain airplay in many formats. Many people assume it was a recent recording and do not realize this song has been around for over 40 years.

I love this song! It makes me smile every time I hear it!

Here are the lyrics! Sing em loud with a grin on your face!

Lyrics to Dominick The Donkey:

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Santa’s got a little friend,
His name is Dominick.
The cutest little donkey,
You never see him kick.
When Santa visits his paisons,
With Dominick he’ll be.
Because the reindeer cannot,
Climb the hills of Italy.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Jingle bells around his feet,
And presents on the sled.
Hey! Look at the mayor’s derby,
On top of Dominick’s head.
A pair of shoes for Louie,
And a dress for Josephine.
The labels on the inside says,
They’re made in Brooklyn.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Children sing, and clap their hands,
And Dominick starts to dance.
They talk Italian to him,
And he even understands.

Cumpare sing,
Cumpare su,
And dance ‘sta tarantel.
When jusamagora comes to town,
And brings du ciuccianello.

Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It’s Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

Hey! Dominick! Buon Natale!
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)

Related articles

• The Most Hated Christmas Songs? (q104.radio.com)
• Tired of the same old Christmas songs? Listen to these (seattlepi.com)
• Songs of Christmas (lgsquirrel.wordpress.com)
• 15 days of Christmas Songs: 10th Song (evasantiago.wordpress.com)

Buddha Rocks – Dem Bones

Step up now! Don’t be shy!

Come see the Magnificent Skeleton Parade!

See them shake, rattle and dance.

With top hats bouncing. Canes twirling.

Trumpets blare. Drums declare. Marching there!

Dem bones. Dem bones. Dem dry bones!

This image is called Dem Bones.

Okay, so I broke my #sixwords rule on that last line but it had to be done! I love the idea of visiting a carnival and having a parade of jaunty skeletons, resplendent in top hats, black canes, bow ties and all that finery. Dancing in choreography to the deep bass of a drum and chirping trumpets.

If you’d like to join in get yourself over to BuddhaRocks at deviantArt, choose a picture from his collection and write about it, link to his site or back to Filling a Hole and have a smile!

Buddha Rocks – No Blur to Blur

My lonely tracks yearn for steam.

Whistles and thunder. Passengers and hope.

No steel wheels on polished rails.

No clickety clack on train tracks.

Golden age ransacked. Speed and haste.

Raging silence conquers desire for motion.

Long time to sit and wait.

Graced by tormenting blur. Swift. Silent.

Memories are relinquished by passing time.

Clacker jackers care not for steam.

Hasty lives spent on rubber wheels.

Slower pace never considered.  Only blur.

These images are called No Blur and Blur.

I thought these two went well together and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to build a small story around them. If you’d like to join in get yourself over to BuddhaRocks at deviantArt, choose a picture from his collection and write about it, link to his site or back to Filling a Hole and have a smile!