Hitchhiker’s bLOG (Revisited) – 2021.07.21

Grandmas and Reindeer

Originally Published 2019.12.02 – Yes, I know it is July, but Christmas in July is a thing now!

It’s that time of year. I’m in the kitchen making breakfast, watching the snow come down, and listening to Christmas music on the station that plays seasonal music. I’m enjoying Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, The Carpenters, and Burl Ives. Oh, the bliss!

Then, like a thief in the night, it struck. Elmo and Patsy’s “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer!”

Have you ever actually processed this song? It lauds Santa Claus for a hit-and-run on Christmas Eve. But there is so much more. Grandma was sloppy because of too much eggnog but had to go home because she forgot her meds. And nobody seemed to care that Grandma was missing until Christmas morning. It did not take a CSI unit to discover that this was intentional; she had hoof marks on her face and then was flipped over as evidence found that Santa walked on her back. To make things even worse, this is proof positive for her husband and grandchild to declare that they to believe in Santa because of this, and all anybody could say is that maybe it was not a good idea to give a driver’s license to a grown man who plays with elves!

This song, recorded in 1979 and rerecorded a few decades later after Elmo jettisoned Patsy from the recording studio and their marriage, is listed as one of the top 50 Christmas songs of all time!