Santa Clauses One and Eight

Every human child in Iceland knows the lyrics about the nine Santa Clauses and the song to which the lyrics are sung at Christmas parties every year. What the text is about has always been a mystery, but now that riddle is solved. Then there is the question. What is the origin of the song? These questions are answered in this article.

Icelandic Lyrics

I can't remember exactly when I learned the lyrics to the folk song called, Santa Clauses One and Eight, but I know wasn't old. Countless Christmas parties with it dancing around the Christmas tree firmly stuck the lyrics in the memory. When singing it I pictured images of its content in my mind. Soon, though, I started questioning the lyrics because they made no sense.

The first image I pictured in my mind was of nine white-bearded men wearing red caps wading the snow down steep mountains on their way to human settlements. I thought it strange that the Santa Clauses were said to be only nine in the first verse but I knew for sure the Santas are thirteen, not nine. When Jón Arason, an Icelandic scholar, collected stories of Icelandic folk culture in the mid-nineteenth century, he found records of three groups of Santas. One group had nine Santas, another had thirteen and the third had eighteen. In fact, in the literature about the Icelandic Santas, in the Icelandic folk culture, there are over eighty Santa names mentioned, and also some names for Santa maids. I guess it's best to agree on the thirteen Santas that were first mentioned in the literature in the mid-eighteenth century. It is good to have consistency between the number of Santa Clauses and Christmas days.

Now let's go back to the lyrics. These old lyrics have always been a mystery because of how little sense they made. But now it is possible that historian Lára Magnúsdóttir has solved the mystery. She found the solution in the Bishop's Árni Saga written in the fourteenth century and tells of events that took place in the last half of the thirteenth century. At the time, there was a fierce conflict between monarchy and ecclesiastical authority across Europe. The King of Norway had just seized power in Iceland. His agent, Loðinn Leppur, submitted a new book of the law in the king's name for approval by the parliament (alþingi). Nine chieftains were not satisfied with this book of law, and they sent one chieftain to Norway to speak for them and deliver a letter to the king giving their reasoning. Loftur was the name of the man who went to see the king. He had difficulties getting an audience with Eiríkur Magnússon, the priest-hater who was then King of Norway. The case from the nine chieftains in Iceland was probably trivial because much was going on in Norway at this time due to disputes between the king and the church. The Nine Santas is probably a reference to those nine Icelandic chiefs.

The second picture the child drew up in his mind when singing the song was of a farmer, called Jón á Völlunum, following the nine Santas. Actually, I always sang the lyrics wrong because I always sang before Jón á Völlunum (á undan Jóni á Völlunum). The lyrics say that the Santas found Jón á Völlunum (fundu Jón á Völlunum). I always imagined the Santas finding a place to sleep in the mountains before they came down from the mountains. It is likely that the lyrics are referring to the fact that Loftur finally delivered the letter from the nine chieftains at a place called Jónsvellir in Norway and that they went to bed refers to Loftur's wait to be heard. This Jónsvellir is a land area owned by the monastery in Bergen, Norway.

Who is this Andrés which appears at the beginning of the second verse? I, as a child, of course, envisioned Donald Duck, for he was the greatest literary hero of my youth. Andrés is the Icelandic name of Donald Duck. I always pictured Donald Duck standing to the side watching Santas walk by. The text of the folk verse does not, of course, refer to Donald Duck but to Andrés Pálsson. This Andrés was one of the rulers in Norway who fought against the increased power of the Church. The Archbishop of Norway banished Andrés. Andrés died in 1282 or 1283. The fact that he died banished meant that his body could not enter church and he could not be buried in a cemetery. Naturally, the child saw a genuine Icelandic troll come down the slopes of the mountain and snatch Donald Duck with him as he stood watching the Santas. His destiny was to be eaten by trolls. However, the trolls in the verse do not refer to the non-human creatures which the Icelandic trolls are, but to outlaws, among whom the chief was to rest according to the judgment of the Church.

The child's last picture was of a beautiful country church. The sound of church bells rang as the Santas came to the settlement and the bells rang Christmas in. The reality wasn't quite so pretty. People were not satisfied that Andrés Pálsson's fate would have to be buried among the outlaws, and they forced the body into the church. It says that one of the church pillars broke, but the mission succeeded. Andrés had a church funeral and the church bells were rung.

English Lyrics

The American lyrics of the song began as a song of sorrow and loss. Clementine´s lover seems to be deeply grieving her death. Soon, though, the lyrics turn sour, and the humor becomes all-consuming. Immediately in the second verse, we begin to, sing about the feet of the unfortunate girl. Oversized feet, shoes made of boxes and splinters in toes cause her to plunge into the river. At the bank, her lover stands and does not try to save her. Either love didn't run deep, or courage was lacking. Clementine drowns and is laid to rest in a cemetery where she performs her final mission on this earth. To be fertilizer for the vegetation of the earth. The miner, the girl's father, also dies and rests beside his daughter. At first memories of Clementine haunt her lover, but since she has become a corpse, he no longer finds it appropriate. So he begins to court with his dead lover's sister, and Clementine is soon forgotten.

The text is extremely wicked and some of it borders on moral decency. For this reason, it is now hardly considered a suitable lullaby for children. It's pretty strange that that's exactly how this song and lyrics have often been used. You see, many Americans grew up with parents singing these lyrics to them. I have to say that the Icelandic text is better. Although incomprehensible, it does not raise many moral issues like the American lyrics do. At least the images I drew up in my mind as a child when I learned the Icelandic text was completely innocent. I wonder what images are drawn up in the mind of the American child?

Anyway, the lyrics and indeed the song also are believed to have been written by Percy Montrose in 1884. Whether he is the original author is not clear. Sometimes Barker Bradford, who published a similar song and lyrics in 1885, is credited as the author. The lyrics of Henry S. Thomson's 1863 song Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden are often cited as a possible influence. It is also possible that the lyrics were written under the influence of the lyrics of a song that was extremely popular among Spanish miners at this time. It was the song Romance del Conde Olinos o Niño that was a tragic love song. It was written by Gerald Brenan, a British writer who lived most of his life in Spain.

The Song

The song is a very simple composition. It is played in three-fourth beats and each verse is eight bars. It is usually played in F major but of course, you just choose the key which suits your singing. There's no right or wrong about that. If the song is played in F major you use three chords, F, C7, and Bb, I, V, and IV chords of the circle of fifths.

If you want to play the song with a C major chord but still play in the key of F, you put a capo on the fifth fret. The chords would then be C, G7, and F.

Then, of course, the song can be played in other ways. You could, for example, spice up the chords by adding chords II, and VI in bars five, six, and seven, and playing chord V as a major chord and not as a seventh chord. That's what it would sound like. Simplified the version first.

More about the song

This song is played on various occasions. It is played for example, as a New Year's song, among Jews, and in China. as a German military march, as a motivational song for sports clubs and political forces, and last but not least as a song to dance with around the Christmas tree in Christmas gatherings in Iceland.

The song has often been heard in films and TV shows, and numerous artists have made it their own. The earliest known recording dates back to 1942 when it was performed by Bing Crospy and then Bobby Darin released a more lively version. There's even a rock version performed by Neil Young and Crazy Horse.