Nat King Cole • The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)
Christmas Song of the Day: The Christmas Song, by Nat King Cole.
Yesterday: Little Saint Nick, The Beach Boys
The Christmas Song (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.
According to Tormé, the song was written in July during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool,” the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born. “I saw a spiral pad on his (Wells's) piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, 'Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.’ Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."
Most of us grew up with this song. It has just always been there, always been a part of the pleasant joy of the Christmas season. It’s like it always was. It wasn’t really ever written or recorded, it just was. When God created the earth and it was “without form and void...” as the book of Genesis puts it, I’ll bet somewhere on the horizon could be heard the faint trace of a soft jazz piano intro and some violins. And then the distant echo of a voice began singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...Jack Frost nipping at your nose....” It was part of the Christmas cosmos, and perhaps cherubim and seraphim joined in to the chorus. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and morning, the first day.
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a chestnut, but they are somehow part of my life because Nat King Cole sings about them every year in my car and in my house. This song is part of the DNA, the fabric of life. The line says “To kids from one to ninety-two...” My Dad lived to be 103, and still loved this song. I think the age 92 expiration is merely a musical metaphor, and subject to change. So if by chance you are 93, don’t worry, it still applies to you.
The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in June 1946. At Cole's behest – and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records — a second recording was made in August utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with another full orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole’s 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most-loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.
The Christmas Song has been covered by numerous artists from a wide variety of genres. It has charted by the following:
Christina Aguilera on the 2000 album, My Kind of Christmas: No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart; the second highest position for the song in the chart after the original, and No. 22 on the Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles chart
Michael Bublé in 2003: No. 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart —included on the EP Let It Snow
Lauren Daigle in 2018: No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Christian Songs chart.
A million other artists have of course recorded this song, ranging from Vince Guaraldi (of Charlie Brown Christmas fame), to Ella Fitzgerald, to Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, and on and on. But none was on par with the classic version of Nat King Cole, who would go on to sell more than 50 million records in his career. Perhaps he will always be mostly remembered for this one much beloved song.
So whether you are one or one hundred and one, this song exists for you. And if you haven’t enjoyed your Nat King Cole moment yet this year, here is your chance. Sit down in a comfortable chair, maybe with a favorite beverage or a chestnut, close your eyes, and push “play,” (or the link below). You will be taken away to another place. Enjoy the moment.
The Christmas Song.
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Enjoy listening to Nat King Cole below.
Here are some favorite tracks from Spotify, as well as a couple of classic videos:
First, Nat King Cole on Spotify:
The Christmas Song
Christmas with Nat King Cole
A classic Nat King Cole video:
Here is The Christmas Song performed by Nat King Cole on The Danny Kaye Show in 1963:
Here is The Christmas Song performed live by Christina Aguilera (another amazing version):
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The full Lyrics:
The Christmas Song
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
