Latest revision - January 5, 2024
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series that provides (word only) examples of the children's* parody songs/rhymes "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells".
Non-racist and racist versions of "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" are part of a large group of parodies of the late 19th century "Jingle Bells" song.
Part I showcases some non-racist children's parody examples of the song "Jingle Bells" that are entitled "Jingle Bells Batman Smells", "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells", or similar titles.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/racist-examples-of-childrens-parody.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II showcases some racist children's examples of "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells".
Part II also highlights a racist parody of the "Jingle Bell" song that was sung by a pre-teen or teenage White girl on a 2012 YouTube video. (I chose not to embed that video or provide a link to that video in that pancocojams post.)
In addition, Part II presents information about the parody of "Jingle Bells" that was sung by two New Hampshire high school students on December 4, 2018.
DISCLAIMER: This compilation is not meant to be a comprehensive collection of "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" children's rhymes. Also, note that this compilation doesn't include adult examples of "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells".
*"Children" here means about 5 years old to 19 years old (teenagers/youth).
****
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the authors of blog posts or internet articles who encouraged their site visitors to share examples and reminded them to include where and when they first chanted or heard specific examples of these rhymes.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
"Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" and similar titles are subsets of parodies of the late 19th century song "Jingle Bells".
Prior to the focus on Batman and Robin, non-racist examples of "Jingle Bell Shotgun Shells" centered around Santa Claus, granny, reindeers, and old Chevrolet cars.
For example, here's an example from https://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2794
Naughty kids'greatest hits
From alison
Date: 18 Sep 97 - 01:01 AM
[...]
"Another popular one from Belfast was
Jingle bells, Santa smells, a hundred miles away,
He did a fart behind a cart and blew up the IRA"...
-snip-
WARNING - A number of examples in that discussion thread include profanity, socially taboo references,and/or sexually suggestive references.
Based on comments from rhyme contributors (particularly from https://www.robweir.com/blog/2006/01/jingle-bells-batman-smells.html), it appears that Batman parodies of "Jingle Bells" were first chanted in 1966 or shortly thereafter. 1966 was the first year that the widely popular American television series Batman first aired on national television.
With the exception of "Jingle Bells Batman Smells", I've found more examples online of Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" than any other version of "Jingle Bells" children's parody songs/rhymes.
WARNING: Most examples of "Jingle Bells" parodies songs (including "Jingle Bells Shot Gun Shells") include violent lyrics.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/examples-of-questions-about-batmans-in.html for a related pancocojams post entitled Examples Of The "Batman's In The Kitchen" Verse In "Jingle Bells Batman Smells" Rhymes
****
NON-RACIST EXAMPLES OF THE CHILDREN'S PARODY RHYME "JINGLE BELLS BATMAN SMELLS"/"JINGLE BELLS SHOTGUN SHELLS"
The website sources for these examples are given in no particular order. The examples are given in relative chronological order (within each link) based on their publishing date, except for response. Numbers are assigned consecutively within each link for referencing purposes only.
Website #1:
From https://www.robweir.com/blog/2006/01/jingle-bells-batman-smells.html Jingle Bells, Batman Smells by ROB on 2006/01/09 [Note: These are only selected examples of "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" from that web page.]
1. Anonymous
2006/07/22, 1:40 pm
Southeast PA, early 70’s....
Jingle bells, shotgun shells,
Santa Claus is dead,
Rudolf got a .22 and shot him in the head.
**
2. Anonymous
2006/08/12, 10:17 am
I’m researching this, too, and happened upon this post. Thought I’d add that growing up, we always sang…
“Jingle Bells, Shotgun Shells, BeeBees in the air. Oh, what fun it is to ride in Santa’s underwear!”
Creepy, I know.
**
3. Anonymous
2008/12/18, 9:21 pm
North Alabama, early 80s
Jingle Bells, Shotgun shells
Granny has a gun!
Shot me in the underwear
and boy I had to run!
**
4. Amanda
2009/12/06, 12:30 am
We also sang in Mississippi:
Jingle Bells,Shotgun Shells
Grandma's got a gun
Shot me in the underwear and boy I had to run!
Someone from Alabama made the same post. I guess it's a Southern thing! We sang this version as children in the 80's, but I'm sure it was around before then.
**
5. Ken
2011/12/24, 8:39 pm
I’ve always heard it as:
Jingle Bells
Shotgun Shells
Shootin’ all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a Brand New Chevrolet!
**
6. Elena C
2012/12/07, 3:50 pm
“Jingle bells, shotgun shells, bb’s in the air, oh what fun it is to shoot santa’s reindeer! Deer guts in the trees, bloodstains in the snow…” and i don’t quite remember the rest. Florida, late 80’s.
**
7. john
2012/12/20, 3:44 pm
the version i heard in mississippi in the 1950’s was
jingle bells, shotgun shells
rabbits all the way
applesauce and sauerkraut
and good old pork and beans
**
8. not telling
2012/12/14, 11:57 pm
Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells
Granny had a gun
shot a rabbit up the ass
and boy did it run
**
9. David
2013/12/07, 5:48 am
Jingle Bells
Shot gun shells
Santa Clause is dead.
Someone stole my BB gun
and shot him in the head.
Houston, Texas in the early 1970s.
**
REPLY
10. Gary
2013/12/12, 12:01 pm
I heard the “Santa Claus is dead” version in elementary school in the 1960s in the Dallas, Texas area. It had the feel of an old folk song even then.
**
11. Heather
2015/12/23, 2:52 pm
Early 80’s probably.. maybe Tulsa, OK or Memphis, TN
I Googled this topic because my now 6 yr old is signing new versions I haven’t heard.
One that we sang, that I haven’t seen posted, is:
Jingle Bells, shotgun shells
Granny’s got a gun,
Shot me in the underwear,
And boy I had to run (?)...
**
12. Brian of Nazareth
2017/12/19, 2:57 am
I learned this circa 1972 while living in Prince George’s (or PG as we called it) County, MD. It had the standard first verse that most people seem to have grown up with. The second verse more or less had the “Rudolph ran away” and “beat up Chevrolet” lyrics. However, one friend of mine would sing the second verse with the “shotgun shells” and “Santa’s underwear” lyrics, while another would sing the first verse with the “50 miles away” lyric. It astounds me how many variations there have been!
**
13. Winona Henry
2017/12/08, 6:52 pm
I heard,
“Jingle bells, Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg.”
I don’t remember what the next two lines were. I also heard,
“Jingle Bells, Shotgun shells,
Santa Claus is dead.
Tried to steal my teddy bear;
I shot him in the head.”
Gruesome.
I lived in west Texas, and this would have been mid- to late 1960s.
****
Website #2
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=122222
Origins: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
Subject: Origins: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
From: autoharper
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 10:01 PM
One of the most widespread children's folksongs that is alive and well in 21st century American oral tradition is the schoolyard parody "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells." I am curious to know what is the earliest year you can remember hearing or singing this parody? Did it exist before the "Batman" television series (1966-68)? Has it appeared in print prior to the publication of "Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!" by Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus in 2009?
I have heard a variant sung in South Carolina in the 1950's that goes:
"Jingle bells, shotgun shells, BBs all the way,
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a suped-up Chevrolet"
When did Batman become the song's protagonist?
-Adam Miller
****
Website #3
From http://playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/jingle-bells-shotgun-shells.html
Jingle Bells, Shotgun Shells
Author: Adam Selzer December 7, 2009
[comment]
FergiSan May 24, 2014 at 5:41 am
I heard two versions of this "jingle" back in the 70's. One was "naughty," according to my mother, and the other one was pure racist (this was in the South in the 1970's)
Version 1
Jingle bells, shotgun shells
Rabbits all the way.
One jumped up, and I shot him in the butt,
and the other got away.
-snip-
The racist version is found in Part II of this post.
****
Website #4
From https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/jingle-bells/"
B. RUTH
December 7, 2014 at 1:16 pm
Oh yes, from the fifties..
Jingle bells, shotgun shells, rabbit got away!
Oh what fun it was to ride in a four-door Chevrolet…
or maybe one of the guys would yell out ’55 Chevrolet!…
-snip-
The about us page for this blog indicates that the editor of this blog is from Western North Carolina and the blog is "an effort to preserve and celebrate Appalachia."
From http://members.tripod.com/wampus_cat0/OnePatriotBoulevard/id63.htm Silly Jingle Bells Verses
"Hey! Jingle bells, shotgun shells
Rabbits run away
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a broke down Chevrolet - hey!"
****
Website #5
From https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=93749 Children's Cussing Songs
Khamphelf, 10/17/2001
Jingle bells
shotgun shells
BBs in the air
Take a shot at Santa Claus
And listen to him swear
or
Jingle Bells
Shotgun shells
Santa Claus is dead
Someone took my 45
And shot him in the head
****
Website #6.
From http://inky.50megs.com/idlechild/songs/jinglebells.htm "Jingle Bells"
Jingle Bells
Shotgun Shells
Rabbits run away
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a 4 door Chevrolet
****
This concludes Part I of this pancocojams post.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
With the exception of "Jingle Bells Batman Smells", I've found more examples online of Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" than any other version of "Jingle Bells" children's parody songs/rhymes.
WARNING: Most examples of "Jingle Bells" parodies songs (including "Jingle Bells Shot Gun Shells") include violent lyrics.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/12/examples-of-questions-about-batmans-in.html for a related pancocojams post entitled Examples Of The "Batman's In The Kitchen" Verse In "Jingle Bells Batman Smells" Rhymes
****
NON-RACIST EXAMPLES OF THE CHILDREN'S PARODY RHYME "JINGLE BELLS BATMAN SMELLS"/"JINGLE BELLS SHOTGUN SHELLS"
The website sources for these examples are given in no particular order. The examples are given in relative chronological order (within each link) based on their publishing date, except for response. Numbers are assigned consecutively within each link for referencing purposes only.
Website #1:
From https://www.robweir.com/blog/2006/01/jingle-bells-batman-smells.html Jingle Bells, Batman Smells by ROB on 2006/01/09 [Note: These are only selected examples of "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" from that web page.]
1. Anonymous
2006/07/22, 1:40 pm
Southeast PA, early 70’s....
Jingle bells, shotgun shells,
Santa Claus is dead,
Rudolf got a .22 and shot him in the head.
**
2. Anonymous
2006/08/12, 10:17 am
I’m researching this, too, and happened upon this post. Thought I’d add that growing up, we always sang…
“Jingle Bells, Shotgun Shells, BeeBees in the air. Oh, what fun it is to ride in Santa’s underwear!”
Creepy, I know.
**
3. Anonymous
2008/12/18, 9:21 pm
North Alabama, early 80s
Jingle Bells, Shotgun shells
Granny has a gun!
Shot me in the underwear
and boy I had to run!
**
4. Amanda
2009/12/06, 12:30 am
We also sang in Mississippi:
Jingle Bells,Shotgun Shells
Grandma's got a gun
Shot me in the underwear and boy I had to run!
Someone from Alabama made the same post. I guess it's a Southern thing! We sang this version as children in the 80's, but I'm sure it was around before then.
**
5. Ken
2011/12/24, 8:39 pm
I’ve always heard it as:
Jingle Bells
Shotgun Shells
Shootin’ all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a Brand New Chevrolet!
**
6. Elena C
2012/12/07, 3:50 pm
“Jingle bells, shotgun shells, bb’s in the air, oh what fun it is to shoot santa’s reindeer! Deer guts in the trees, bloodstains in the snow…” and i don’t quite remember the rest. Florida, late 80’s.
**
7. john
2012/12/20, 3:44 pm
the version i heard in mississippi in the 1950’s was
jingle bells, shotgun shells
rabbits all the way
applesauce and sauerkraut
and good old pork and beans
**
8. not telling
2012/12/14, 11:57 pm
Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells
Granny had a gun
shot a rabbit up the ass
and boy did it run
**
9. David
2013/12/07, 5:48 am
Jingle Bells
Shot gun shells
Santa Clause is dead.
Someone stole my BB gun
and shot him in the head.
Houston, Texas in the early 1970s.
**
REPLY
10. Gary
2013/12/12, 12:01 pm
I heard the “Santa Claus is dead” version in elementary school in the 1960s in the Dallas, Texas area. It had the feel of an old folk song even then.
**
11. Heather
2015/12/23, 2:52 pm
Early 80’s probably.. maybe Tulsa, OK or Memphis, TN
I Googled this topic because my now 6 yr old is signing new versions I haven’t heard.
One that we sang, that I haven’t seen posted, is:
Jingle Bells, shotgun shells
Granny’s got a gun,
Shot me in the underwear,
And boy I had to run (?)...
**
12. Brian of Nazareth
2017/12/19, 2:57 am
I learned this circa 1972 while living in Prince George’s (or PG as we called it) County, MD. It had the standard first verse that most people seem to have grown up with. The second verse more or less had the “Rudolph ran away” and “beat up Chevrolet” lyrics. However, one friend of mine would sing the second verse with the “shotgun shells” and “Santa’s underwear” lyrics, while another would sing the first verse with the “50 miles away” lyric. It astounds me how many variations there have been!
**
13. Winona Henry
2017/12/08, 6:52 pm
I heard,
“Jingle bells, Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg.”
I don’t remember what the next two lines were. I also heard,
“Jingle Bells, Shotgun shells,
Santa Claus is dead.
Tried to steal my teddy bear;
I shot him in the head.”
Gruesome.
I lived in west Texas, and this would have been mid- to late 1960s.
****
Website #2
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=122222
Origins: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
Subject: Origins: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
From: autoharper
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 10:01 PM
One of the most widespread children's folksongs that is alive and well in 21st century American oral tradition is the schoolyard parody "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells." I am curious to know what is the earliest year you can remember hearing or singing this parody? Did it exist before the "Batman" television series (1966-68)? Has it appeared in print prior to the publication of "Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!" by Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus in 2009?
I have heard a variant sung in South Carolina in the 1950's that goes:
"Jingle bells, shotgun shells, BBs all the way,
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a suped-up Chevrolet"
When did Batman become the song's protagonist?
-Adam Miller
****
Website #3
From http://playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/jingle-bells-shotgun-shells.html
Jingle Bells, Shotgun Shells
Author: Adam Selzer December 7, 2009
[comment]
FergiSan May 24, 2014 at 5:41 am
I heard two versions of this "jingle" back in the 70's. One was "naughty," according to my mother, and the other one was pure racist (this was in the South in the 1970's)
Version 1
Jingle bells, shotgun shells
Rabbits all the way.
One jumped up, and I shot him in the butt,
and the other got away.
-snip-
The racist version is found in Part II of this post.
****
Website #4
From https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/jingle-bells/"
B. RUTH
December 7, 2014 at 1:16 pm
Oh yes, from the fifties..
Jingle bells, shotgun shells, rabbit got away!
Oh what fun it was to ride in a four-door Chevrolet…
or maybe one of the guys would yell out ’55 Chevrolet!…
-snip-
The about us page for this blog indicates that the editor of this blog is from Western North Carolina and the blog is "an effort to preserve and celebrate Appalachia."
From http://members.tripod.com/wampus_cat0/OnePatriotBoulevard/id63.htm Silly Jingle Bells Verses
"Hey! Jingle bells, shotgun shells
Rabbits run away
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a broke down Chevrolet - hey!"
****
Website #5
From https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=93749 Children's Cussing Songs
Khamphelf, 10/17/2001
Jingle bells
shotgun shells
BBs in the air
Take a shot at Santa Claus
And listen to him swear
or
Jingle Bells
Shotgun shells
Santa Claus is dead
Someone took my 45
And shot him in the head
****
Website #6.
From http://inky.50megs.com/idlechild/songs/jinglebells.htm "Jingle Bells"
Jingle Bells
Shotgun Shells
Rabbits run away
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a 4 door Chevrolet
****
This concludes Part I of this pancocojams post.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Here's an often quoted comment [in articles about "Jingle Bells Batman Smells" songs] that provides one likely theory about how children's rhymes spread before the internet:
ReplyDeleteSunnyD,
From https://www.robweir.com/blog/2006/01/jingle-bells-batman-smells.html Jingle Bells, Batman Smells by ROB on 2006/01/09 Jingle Bells, Batman Smells by ROB on 2006/01/09
2012/12/05, 3:15 pm
"My feeling about how this song spread around the world is the children of US military familes. I first heard it back in Christmas of 1966 when the Batman TV series started in September of 1966. That was the only thing elementary school kids talked about and the toys were all we wanted for Christmas. I lived in San Diego California and our school was half military kids. Our city was a big military hub at the height of the Vietnam War. Every branch of the services was active there. I remember we sang the original chorus over and over. Kids tried to add versions, but the original ending was always the Joker got away – Hey!. My assumption was that as military kids were suddenly moved around the country they would arrive in a new school and that silly song was a familiar memory of their former friends. Once it was heard by the new group they would be “Kool” and other kids would copy their new song.
I think the original chorus was tried and true and whatever you learn first is your memory of the right way. When another comes along it is quickly rejected. It takes a kid to move with a different version for that one to be known as the original. That is my guess how it migrated around the world and did not change very much. I went to research this song version after walking kids to school and hearing a 7 year old claim it was new.
I am 54 and I remember it felt new when I was 7. The version we were singing was “Jingle Bells, Santa smells, Rudolph lost his way. Blah blah blah in a one horse Chevrolet. hey! This version was popular in school, because the 1960’s commerical hit song was “See the USA in your Chevrolet” played on every TV channel during kids shows. Christmas of 1966 is when I first heard it switch to Batman Smells, Robin layed an egg and the Batmobile logically replaced the sleigh and our Chevrolet. Please post a reply if you heard this version before Christmas 1966 and where you were."
-snip-
I reformatted this comment to enhance its readability.
Here's information about the jingle "See The U.S.A. In Your Chevolet".
DeleteFrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_the_USA_in_Your_Chevrolet
"The song "See The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet" (title as filed for 1950 copyright)[1] is a commercial jingle from c. 1949, with lyrics and music by Leo Corday (ASCAP) and Leon Carr (ASCAP),[2] written for the Chevrolet Division of General Motors.[1] The song was the Chevrolet jingle sung on the show Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet by Chevrolet's real-life husband-wife duo, Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy,[1] years before it became associated with Dinah Shore through Chevrolet's decade-long sponsorship of her television shows. Dinah Shore sang the song after 1952,[1] and it became something of a signature song for her. Later the song was also sung by male spokesman Pat Boone on his Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom (ABC) from 1957 through 1960. When the games of the Los Angeles Dodgers were televised in the 1960s, commercials were aired with the song sung by John Roseboro and Don Drysdale, whose singing careers, announcer Vin Scully said, were "destined to go absolutely nowhere"...
I remember the "See The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet" jingle from the Dinah Shore television show. Actually, that's the only thing that I remember about that early 1950s American television show.
DeleteThere are LOTS of "Jingle Bells" parodies that mention the Chevrolet" brand of car. the reason why the word "chervolet" is so prevalent in those "Jingle Bells" parodies -in addition to the popularity of that "see the U.S.A jingle- is that the word "chevrolet" rhymes with the word "sleigh" which is the last word in what is now the standard version of the chorus for the "Jingle Bells" song: "in a one horse open sleigh".
I learned in Kindergarten (early 50') the following;
ReplyDeleteJingle Bells
Shotgun Shells
Rabbits all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride
In the teachers Model A
Rest is gone, that part of my brain suffered a critical memory error sometime in the seventies.
Anonymous, thanks for sharing that version of "Jingle Bells".
DeleteI hadn't come across that version before.
It's interesting what things we remember from our childhood :o)
Re-reading these "Jingle Bells Shotgun Shells" it occurs to me that the violent Barney The Purple Dinosaur rhymes were patterned after these shoot Santa Claus in the head rhymes.
ReplyDelete