Changes: Frosty the Snowman (song)

Revision as of 18:51, 2 February 2020

"Frosty the Snowman" is a song written by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson that inspired the Rankin/Bass Christmas special of the same name.

The song was recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. Like "Jingle Bells" and several other songs about winter, it is considered to be a Christmas song, despite not mentioning Christmas at all. It was written after Autry recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and the single sold two million copies.

When Nelson and Rollins saw what success Autry was having in 1949 singing "Rudolph", they decided to write their own silly but catchy song doing variations on an icon of Christmas. It took them months to decide on a living snowman as their subject, but they still had it ready in time for a 1950 release. Autry, delighted with the opportunity to ride his own recording's coat-tails back to the top of the charts, recorded it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The song gained enormous popularity after it hit the market and seemed a fit sequel for "Rudolph", a Christmas song that had been recorded a few years earlier and had proved to be a huge hit.

Lyrics

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,

With a corncob pipe and a button nose

And two eyes made out of coal.

Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,

He was made of snow but the children

Know how he came to life one day.

There must have been some magic in that

Old silk hat they found.

For when they placed it on his head

He began to dance around.

O, Frosty the snowman

Was alive as he could be,

And the children say he could laugh

And play just the same as you and me.

Frosty the snowman knew

The sun was hot that day,

So he said, "Let's run and

We'll have some fun

Now before I melt away."

Down to the village,

With a broomstick in his hand,

Running here and there all

Around the square saying,

"Catch me if you can."

He led them down the streets of town

Right to the traffic cop.

And he only paused a moment when

He heard him holler "Stop!"

For Frosty the snowman

Had to hurry on his way,

But he waved goodbye saying,

"Don't you cry,

I'll be back again some day."

Thumpety thump thump,

Look at Frosty go.

Thumpety thump thump,

Over the hills of snow.

Most versions of the song do not include the "thumpety thump thump" part at the end. In addition, some versions, such as the one featured in the Rankin/Bass special, change the line "I'll be back again some day" to "I'll be back on Christmas Day."

Jimmy Durante, the narrator for the Rankin/Bass special, recorded a version separate from it, but still sung along the same lines as the one in it. In this one, he sings it to a young boy who refers to him as "Uncle Jimmy". Durante refers to Frosty as a close personal friend.

Appearances in Christmas specials

Frosty the Snowman - incorporated with the special itself with the "I'll be back again someday" line replaced with Frosty saying "I'll be back on Christmas Day!"
Frosty's Winter Wonderland - Incorporated within the story with several variations to the lyrics.
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July - The first few verses are used during the flashback to Frosty's origins. The melody is also heard as part of the score at a few points.
Magic Kingdom Yuletide Special
Frosty Returns - The song's melody is incorporated in the original score, with the original song playing over the closing credits.
Kidsongs: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
Jack Frost - Covered by the Jack Frost Band over the opening credits.
The Polar Express - A brief cover version of the song is heard in the background when the kids goes through the darkened gift wrapping room.
A Very Pentatonix Christmas - Parodied as Crusty the Snowman.
"Frosty's Christmas Cabin" - A cover of Frosty the Snowman song is sang by Jarrett Blandin.

Album releases

Album	Year	Notes
Christmas with the Chipmunks	1961
Christmas with the Brady Bunch	1970
Raffi's Christmas Album	1983
We Wish You a Merry Christmas	1993
A Flintstones Motown Christmas	1996	Performed by The Jackson 5.
Nick at Nite: A Classic Cartoon Christmas	1996
Rudolph, Frosty and Friends' Favorite Christmas Songs	1996
Happy Holidays Love, Barney	1997	Sung by Barney
Disney's Family Christmas Collection	2003
Jingle Jangle Jingle with Hi-5	2004
Songs to Celebrate 25 Days of Christmas	2009
Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites	2010	Recorded as "Perry Saves Christmas", sung by Major Monogram.
Chipmunks Christmas	2012

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{song|image=The_gang_dancing.jpg|caption=|writer=[[wikipedia:Walter E. Rollins|Jack Rollins]]<br>Steve Nelson|date=1950|publisher=Hill and Range Songs Inc.}}
-[[File:The_gang_dancing.jpg|thumb|250px]]{{song|writer=Steve "Jack" Rollins<br>Steve Nelson|composer=|lyricist=|date=1950|publisher=|specials=''[[Frosty the Snowman]]''<br>''[[Frosty's Winter Wonderland]]''<br>''[[Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July]]''<br>''[[Magic Kingdom Yuletide Special]]''<br>''[[Frosty Returns]]''<br>''[[We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Kidsongs)|We Wish You a Merry Christmas]]''<br>''[[Jack Frost (1998 film)|Jack Frost]]''<br>''[[The Polar Express]]''}}
+[[File:Jimmy Durante "Frosty The Snowman"|thumb|right|250px]]
+"'''Frosty the Snowman'''" is a song written by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson that inspired the [[Rankin/Bass]] [[Frosty the Snowman|Christmas special of the same name]].
+The song was recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. Like "[[Jingle Bells (song)|Jingle Bells]]" and several other songs about winter, it is considered to be a Christmas song, despite not mentioning Christmas at all. It was written after Autry recorded "[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]" and the single sold two million copies.
-[[File:Frostythesnowman.jpg|thumb|250px]]
-[[Video:Frosty The Snowman Jimmy Durante Christmas Video|thumb|right|252px|Song]]
-'''''"Frosty the Snowman"''''' is a song that inspired the [[Rankin/Bass]] [[Frosty the Snowman|Christmas special of the same name]].
+When Nelson and Rollins saw what success Autry was having in 1949 singing "Rudolph", they decided to write their own silly but catchy song doing variations on an icon of Christmas. It took them months to decide on a living snowman as their subject, but they still had it ready in time for a 1950 release. Autry, delighted with the opportunity to ride his own recording's coat-tails back to the top of the charts, recorded it, and the rest, as they say, is history.
-The music and lyrics were written by Steve "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson and recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. Like "[[Jingle Bells]]" and several other songs about winter, "Frosty the Snowman" is considered to be a Christmas song despite not mentioning Christmas at all. It was written after Gene Autry recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and the single sold two million copies.
+The song gained enormous popularity after it hit the market and seemed a fit sequel for "Rudolph", a Christmas song that had been recorded a few years earlier and had proved to be a huge hit.
-When Nelson and Rollins saw what success Autry was having in 1949 singing Rudolph's song, they decided to write their own silly but catchy song doing variations on an icon of Christmas. It took them months to decide on a living snowman as their subject, but they still had it ready in time for a 1950 release. Autry, delighted with the opportunity to ride his own recording's coat-tails back to the top of the charts, recorded it, and the rest, as they say, is history.
-Frosty has been a great favorite with children since the very beginning. The song gained enormous popularity after it hit the market and seemed a fit sequel for "Rudolph", a Christmas song that had been recorded a few years earlier and had proved to be a huge hit. Frosty was not only a cute children's poem, it also had a feel-good spirit that makes for a holiday favorite.
-In [[The Rudolph, Frosty and Friends Sing Along]] VHS, the sing-along version has a snowflake as the "bouncing ball" in the song, while the [[Christmas Classics Sing Along]] DVD has the "bouncing ball" shaped to look like Frosty's hat.
-==Album Releases==
-* ''[[Rudolph, Frosty and Friends' Favorite Christmas Songs]]''
-* ''[[Raffi's Christmas Album]]''
-* ''[[Disney's Family Christmas Collection]]''
-* ''[[We Wish You a Merry Christmas (album)|We Wish You a Merry Christmas]]''
-* ''[[Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites]]'' - Recorded as "[[Perry the Platypus|Perry]] Saves Christmas"
 ==Lyrics==
@@ Line 28: / Line 16: @@
 :He was made of snow but the children
 :Know how he came to life one day.
 :There must have been some magic in that
 :Old silk hat they found.
 :For when they placed it on his head
 :He began to dance around.
 :O, Frosty the snowman
 :Was alive as he could be,
 :And the children say he could laugh
 :And play just the same as you and me.
-:Thumpetty thump thump,
-:Thumpety thump thump,
-:Look at Frosty go.
-:Thumpetty thump thump,
-:Thumpety thump thump,
-:Over the hills of snow.
 :Frosty the snowman knew
@@ Line 49: / Line 32: @@
 :We'll have some fun
 :Now before I melt away."
 :Down to the village,
 :With a broomstick in his hand,
 :Running here and there all
 :Around the square saying,
-:Catch me if you can.
+:"Catch me if you can."
 :He led them down the streets of town
 :Right to the traffic cop.
 :And he only paused a moment when
 :He heard him holler "Stop!"
-:For Frosty the snow man
+:For Frosty the snowman
 :Had to hurry on his way,
 :But he waved goodbye saying,
@@ Line 64: / Line 50: @@
 :I'll be back again some day."
-:Thumpetty thump thump,
+:Thumpety thump thump,
 :Thumpety thump thump,
 :Look at Frosty go.
-:Thumpetty thump thump,
+:Thumpety thump thump,
 :Thumpety thump thump,
 :Over the hills of snow.
-==Variations==
-*Most versions do not include the " <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; ">"</span><span style="font-style: normal; ">Th</span><span style="font-style: normal; ">umpetty thump thump" part at the end.</span>
-*<span style="font-style: normal; ">Some versions change the last line to "On Christmas Day", such as the show version.</span>
-*In the sing-along version of this song, the fifth and last verses were skipped, and the last verse was replaced with the fourth verse. Also, the <span style="font-style: normal; ">"</span>Thumpetty thump thump" part was heard after the fourth verse was sung.
-*For the show version, the "Thumpetty thump thump" part was sung after the seventh verse, followed by the first verse, then the last verse. Also, Frosty is heard saying "I'll be back on Christmas Day!" at the end.
-*Some versions use "Happy, jolly soul" instead of the other way around.
-*The fifth, sixth and seventh verses were slowed down to a more parade-ish speed for the show version.
+Most versions of the song do not include the "thumpety thump thump" part at the end. In addition, some versions, such as the one featured in the Rankin/Bass special, change the line "I'll be back again some day" to "I'll be back on Christmas Day."
+[[Jimmy Durante]], the narrator for the Rankin/Bass special, recorded a version separate from it, but still sung along the same lines as the one in it. In this one, he sings it to a young boy who refers to him as "Uncle Jimmy". Durante refers to Frosty as a close personal friend.
+==Appearances in Christmas specials==
+* ''[[Frosty the Snowman]]'' - incorporated with the special itself with the "I'll be back again someday" line replaced with Frosty saying "I'll be back on Christmas Day!"
+* ''[[Frosty's Winter Wonderland]]'' - Incorporated within the story with several variations to the lyrics.
+* ''[[Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July]]'' - The first few verses are used during the flashback to Frosty's origins. The melody is also heard as part of the score at a few points.
+* ''[[Magic Kingdom Yuletide Special]]''
+* ''[[Frosty Returns]]'' - The song's melody is incorporated in the original score, with the original song playing over the closing credits.
+* ''Kidsongs'': "[[We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Kidsongs)|We Wish You a Merry Christmas]]"
+* ''[[Jack Frost (1998)|Jack Frost]]'' - Covered by the Jack Frost Band over the opening credits.
+* ''[[The Polar Express]]'' - A brief cover version of the song is heard in the background when the kids goes through the darkened gift wrapping room.
+* ''[[A Very Pentatonix Christmas]]'' - Parodied as ''Crusty the Snowman''.
+* "[[Frosty's Christmas Cabin]]" - A cover of Frosty the Snowman song is sang by Jarrett Blandin.
+==Album releases==
-{{rankinbass}}
+{| class="sortable wikitable"
+! Album
+! Year
+! class="unsortable" | Notes
+|-
+| ''[[Christmas with the Chipmunks]]'' || 1961
+|-
+| ''[[Christmas with the Brady Bunch]]'' || 1970
+|-
+| ''[[Raffi's Christmas Album]]'' || 1983
+|-
+| ''[[We Wish You a Merry Christmas (album)|We Wish You a Merry Christmas]]'' || 1993
+|-
+| ''[[A Flintstones Motown Christmas]]'' || 1996 || Performed by {{W|The Jackson 5}}.
+|-
+| ''[[Nick at Nite: A Classic Cartoon Christmas]]'' || 1996
+|-
+| ''[[Rudolph, Frosty and Friends' Favorite Christmas Songs]]'' || 1996
+|-
+| ''[[Happy Holidays Love, Barney]]'' || 1997 || Sung by [[Barney]]
+|-
+| ''[[Disney's Family Christmas Collection]]'' || 2003
+|-
+| ''[[Hi-5: Jingle Jangle Jingle with Hi-5 (album)|Jingle Jangle Jingle with Hi-5]]'' || 2004
+|-
+| ''[[Songs to Celebrate 25 Days of Christmas]]'' || 2009
+|-
+| ''[[Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites]]'' || 2010 || Recorded as "[[Perry the Platypus|Perry]] Saves Christmas", sung by [[Major Monogram]].
+|-
+| ''[[Chipmunks Christmas]]'' || 2012
+|}
 [[Category:Songs]]
 [[Category:Rankin/Bass songs]]
 [[Category:Disney songs]]
+[[Category:Nickelodeon songs]]