I finished writing another of my Aussie Christmas song earlier today. I left it a bit later than I wanted to this year but I’m glad I got it done.
This is my eighth song now and this year I settled on doing an Aussie version of Holly Jolly Christmas called Ripper Little Christmas.
I chose it as it’s very recognisable and should be an easy one to follow. I also chose it as it’s just a fun song and we could all use a bit of fun after this year, don’t you think?
It’s more inspired by the original song than a true parody (I changed the rhyming and structure a bit as I didn’t want it to seem too cutesy) but it also lets me tell a bit more of a fun story, which is what I wanted to do too.
I hope you enjoy it and if you have any suggestions for next year’s song, let me know. 😀
Ripper Little Christmas
Have a ripper little Christmas
It’s a beaut time of the year
We’ll have lots of fun in the sun
And a glass or two of beer
Have a ripper little Christmas
And when you go to the beach
Say hello to mates you know
And shout em a cold one each
Oh oh look how the lights glow
So pretty on the tree
Grandma’s baked a cake again
Save a slice just for me
Have a ripper little Christmas
Enjoy the fun and cheer
And make sure you have a ripper little Christmas
This year!
Oh oh look at Uncle Joe
He’s fallen asleep by the tree
The kids are playing in the yard
While we enjoy a cup of tea
Have a ripper little Christmas
Hold your loved ones near
And make sure you have a ripper little Christmas
This year!
I didn’t get a chance to do an Aussie Christmas song last year but I thought I’d do it again this year. I wanted to do a fun song and Santa Baby was one of the first songs that came to mind. It’s just such a fun, cheeky song and I could immediately see how I could make it more Australian, unlike with some other songs (I’d still love to do an Aussie Frosty the Snowman at some stage but it’s not the easiest to make Australian, for obvious reasons!).
This version is called Santa Matey. It was a lot of fun to write and play around with and definitely helped to make it feel like Christmas again. I hope you enjoy it. And Merry Christmas 🙂
Santa matey, leave a beer under the tree
For me
Been a really good bloke
Santa matey So hurry over Sydney tonight
Santa matey, maybe a gift voucher too
Or a few
I’ll stay up for you champ
Santa matey So hurry over Sydney tonight
Think of all the work I’ve done
Think of all the times I could’ve been having fun
I’ve really been very good
So won’t you leave me an Xbox One
Santa matey, I wanna Ford
And maybe I won’t get so bored
Been fair dinkum all year
Santa matey So hurry over Sydney tonight
Santa ripper, there’s something else I’d love to see
A TV
To watch the Swannies next year
Santa matey So hurry over Sydney tonight
Santa beauty, and stuff my stocking with a new phone
And tones
I’ll text you every day
Santa beauty So hurry over Sydney tonight
Come and try my Christmas cake
It’s just like my mum used to make
I saved a slice just for you
I hope you saved something for me too
Santa matey, there’s just one other little thing
Some bling
Like a gold barbeque
Santa matey And hurry over Sydney tonight
Hurry over Sydney tonight Oh hurry over Sydney tonight
Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating in their part of the world today. I hope you are having a wonderful day with your family and friends.
To celebrate I thought I’d post another one of my Aussie Christmas songs. Last year I wrote Deck the Ute, an Aussie version of Deck the Halls, and this year I settled on Have Yourself An Aussie Kind of Christmas, an Aussie version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
I’ve written five of these Aussie Christmas songs now and this was by far the hardest one. It took me a long time to choose a song and I think I’m starting to run out of well-known songs as most of the best known ones don’t really suit an Australian translation (Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! for instance), so I’ll have to think carefully about which one to do next year. In the end I chose Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas because it’s one of my favourite Christmas songs and also because I wanted to do something a little different this year and try to show what it feels like for Australians spending Christmas overseas, longing to be home with their families and friends. Given the number of Australians who have to leave home for work every year and also our soldiers currently deployed overseas, I thought it suited the rather melancholic feel of the original song.
The two best-known versions are probably by Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra; Garland’s is personally my favourite as it’s more serious and sombre in tone (although nowhere near as depressing as the original lyrics written for the song in Meet Me in St. Louis, which Garland had changed), which often reflects my mood at Christmas, but I like Sinatra’s version as well and so decided to combine the two to reflect both versions and make it a bit longer as well.
I hope you enjoy it. And Merry Christmas. 😉
Have Yourself An Aussie Kind of Christmas
Summer sunshine is far away This cold winter has set in to last I’m dreaming of a place I loved but could not stay And warm Christmases of the past…
Have yourself an Aussie kind of Christmas
May your winter days be bright
Some day soon this longing will be set right
And you’ll be home
Have yourself an Aussie kind of Christmas
Tell Santa Claus g’day
One day you’ll see him fly over Sydney in his sleigh
Once again
Here we are in this new century
These happy years of promise and awe
I long to see my loved ones once again
And to hold them close once more
In my heart I know they won’t forget me
And one day I’ll be home if funds allow
Until then I’ll just have to save up somehow
And try to have myself an Aussie kind of Christmas now
So have yourself an Aussie kind of Christmas
Throw a shrimp on the barbeque
One day soon you won’t feel so blue
Anymore
Have yourself an Aussie kind of Christmas
Grab a beer and watch the kids play
They’ll be all grown up one day
As life moves on
Here we are in happier times
These memories we cherish and adore
I find myself thinking of old friends
And wishing I was near them once more
Over the years good mates always stick together
So even when distance won’t allow
We’ll still find a way to celebrate somehow
And try to have ourselves an Aussie kind of Christmas now
Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating today. I hope you’re having a wonderful day with family and friends, wherever you are in the world.
I had a quiet day with my parents today; it was just us as most of our family live overseas and we don’t see our Australian relatives that often. We had a lovely roast for dinner, then opened a few gifts afterwards. It was actually the first time we’ve had a roast in about ten years as we normally have a salad instead; it was delicious but typically we picked the hottest Christmas day in years to have it on. Must be Murphy’s law.
This year I did an Aussie version of Deck the Halls. Originally I wanted to do Frosty the Snowman or Silver Bells but they were hard to translate to Australia. I think Deck the Halls works better and it’s also easy to sing along to as everyone knows the tune.
I hope you enjoy it. And Merry Christmas. 😉
Deck the Ute
Deck the ute with lights and wattle Fa la la la la la la la la
We’ll take it for a drive and go full throttle Fa la la la la la la la la
Kids are singing in the back seat Fa la la la la la la la la
Spreading Christmas cheer to all we meet Fa la la la la la la la la
Soon we’re pulling up at the rellies Fa la la la la la la la la
And getting ready to open the pressies Fa la la la la la la la la
Hope it’s not more socks from Aunt May Fa la la la la la la la la
Oh well guess I can sell them on eBay Fa la la la la la la la la
Come one o’clock and we’re by the pool Fa la la la la la la la la
Drinking beer and trying to stay cool Fa la la la la la la la la
Jamie’s pulling on Susie’s hair Fa la la la la la la la la
While Dad’s nodding off in his chair Fa la la la la la la la la
We say g’day to the neighbours Fa la la la la la la la la
Hear all about their yearly labours Fa la la la la la la la la
Tom and Amy are getting married Fa la la la la la la la la
No wonder they all look so harried Fa la la la la la la la la
Everyone gathers around the table Fa la la la la la la la la
Eats as much as they are able Fa la la la la la la la la
Aunt May’s brought a giant fruit cake Fa la la la la la la la la
Tastes just like Grandma used to make Fa la la la la la la la la
Soon it’s time for everyone to go Fa la la la la la la la la
We say our goodbyes and Ho Ho Hos Fa la la la la la la la la
Pull out of the drive and speed away Fa la la la la la la la la
Waving behind us to Aunt May Fa la la la la la la la la
Back home and the kids are fast asleep Fa la la la la la la la la Carry them to their beds without a peep Fa la la la la la la la la Quietly we turn off all the lights Fa la la la la la la la la And sleep away another Aussie Christmas night Fa la la la la la la la la
Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating today. Hope you’re having a wonderful day wherever you are in the world. It was hot in Sydney today and we just spent a quiet day at home. We opened our presents in the afternoon – I got the new Stephen King which I’m looking forward to reading – and had a salad for dinner which was lovely. I must admit I’m feeling a little bit sick now though. I think I ate too much, although how you can feel bloated on a salad I have no idea. I haven’t even been able to fit in any cake yet!
Christmas is a bit of a funny time for me. I’m not religious anymore but I still enjoy the feeling of the season, the spirit of goodwill and cheer in the air. For some reason I haven’t really felt it that much this year though. We put up our tree a week late this year and that’s usually when I get into the Christmas spirit, so that might be part of it, but there’s also been a distinct lack of atmosphere this year. There have been fewer lights and decorations around and the shopping centres have been all but deserted, even on Christmas eve. I guess it shows how much people are struggling this year… 2010’s been hard on a lot of people and I think everyone’s feeling the squeeze. Hopefully 2011 will be a better year.
I guess to me Christmas is mostly about spending time with family these days and I felt lucky to be able to spend it with my parents today. It was a simple, quiet day and I think I’m starting to value those kind of days more and more as I get older. I know that a lot of people feel lonely and isolated at Christmas, having lost someone or not being able to be with their children, and I found myself thinking about them a lot today, and our troops overseas. I’d still really like to volunteer somewhere over Christmas at some stage. I didn’t feel well enough to do it this year but maybe next year I’ll be able to.
In any case I hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas wherever you are in the world. To celebrate I thought I’d post another of my Aussie Christmas songs. I did an Aussie take on Jingle Bells last year and The Aussie 12 Days of Christmas in 2008, so I guess it’s become something of a Christmas tradition on my blog now!
This year I thought I’d do We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Originally I wanted to do Frosty the Snowman but I couldn’t work out a way to make it sound very Australian – I mean, it’s not like we get much snow! We Wish You a Merry Christmas was a little easier and it’s also one of my favourite songs at this time of year. I’ll try to do Frosty next year if I can.
I hope you enjoy it. And Merry Christmas. 😉
We Wish You an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
Good luck and good fate to you and your mates We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
Send the gifts through the post
Get the food for the roast
Sleep in on Christmas morning
And get ready to play host!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
May your kids make you smile
May your Christmas have style
May they get lots of pressies
To keep them busy for a while!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
Grab a sausage or two
Don’t forget the fondue
And we’ll gather in the backyard
To start the barbeque!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
Have fun with the rellies
Laugh and sing with full bellies
Take a few family photos
Then watch the cricket on the telly!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
Have a beer by the pool
While you try to stay cool
And we’ll sing songs and carols
To celebrate the yule!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
Try a slice of the cake
Just like mum used to make
A little dry and spongy
But at least it’s not fake!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
May your Christmas be bright
Filled with festive delight
And don’t forget to say g’day to Santa
If you see him tonight!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
Good luck and good fate to you and your mates We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!
