- Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
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See also: Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (TV special) and Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer (Grey's Anatomy)
"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" 
Single by Elmo & Patsy Released 1979 "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" is a novelty Christmas song, which led to the creation of an animated movie with the same title.
Written by Randy Brooks, the song was originally performed by the husband and wife duo of Elmo and Patsy Trigg Shropshire in 1979. In the lyrics, the grandmother of the family gets drunk from drinking too much eggnog, and, due to having forgotten to take her medication and despite warnings from the family, staggers outside into a snowstorm (either to retrieve it or due to the effects of senile dementia, which the medication was supposed to treat; the song is ambiguous about which). In the course of her walk, she is run over by Santa Claus and his reindeer and killed (however, the film has her alive at the end). The second and third verses describe the Christmas party the next day: "all the family's dressed in black" while the widower acts as if nothing's happened, drinks beer, watches football and plays cards with "cousin Mel." The song closes with a warning that Santa, "a man who drives a sleigh and plays with elves" is unfit to carry a driver's license, and that the listener should beware.
Contents
Releases
According to Brooks, he played the song while sitting in with Elmo and Patsy at the Hyatt Lake Tahoe in December 1978, and after the show they had him make a cassette of the song for them to learn. A year later, they were selling 45s of the song from the stage, with Elmo himself appearing in drag on the album cover as the titular Grandma.
The song was originally self-released in the San Francisco area by the Shropshires in 1979 on their own record label ("Elmo 'n' Patsy"), with the B-side called "Christmas". By the early 1980s, the song was becoming a seasonal hit, first on country stations and then on Top 40 stations. In 1982, the "Elmo 'n' Patsy" record label changed its name to "Oink" when the song was re-recorded. Oink Records, still based in Windsor, California, continued distribution of the 45 rpm record in the western U.S., with "Nationwide Sound Distributors" of Nashville, Tennessee pressing and distributing the song on its Soundwaves Records in the eastern U.S., peaking at #92 on the country singles charts. In 1984, with the song now a big hit nationally, CBS Records was interested and signed Elmo and Patsy to Epic Records. A new recording was made with a new B-side ("Percy, the Puny Poinsettia"). By the end of 1984, it was reported that sales of "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" were, by record label: Oink: 50,000 45s sold; Soundwaves: 175,000 45s sold; Epic: 150,000 45s sold and 90,000 LPs sold. The Epic Records version charted at #64 on the country charts in 1998 and #48 in 1999.
Following the Shropshires' divorce, Elmo re-recorded it solo in 1992 and again in 2000.
The song was covered by The Irish Rovers who reached the Canadian charts with it in 1982. It has also been covered by Family Force 5 (in the song, the word "beer" was edited out and replaced with root beer), and in 1996 by Poe.
It was also covered by Less Than Jake on their album Goodbye Blue and White.
A sequel, "Grandpa's Gonna Sue the Pants Off of Santa," was released by Elmo Shropshire on his album, Dr. Elmo's Twisted Christmas (1992). Grandpa gets lawyers to fight Santa in court. A rock cover version is on the album We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year.
A parody "Grandpa Got Run Over By a Beer Truck" was released by Da Yoopers in 1993. Radio personality Bob Rivers recorded a his own parody titled "Osama Got Run Over by a Reindeer".
Cledus T. Judd in 1996 released a parody called "Grandpa Got Ran Over By a John Deer" as a sequel to "Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer" as well did a cover of the song in 2002.
SonyBMG released Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer by Dr. Elmo in 2002.
Madacy Records released a Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer gift tin (CD/DVD/Xmas stocking) by Dr. Elmo in 2007.
Time Life Records released "Dr. Elmo's Bluegrass Christmas" in 2010, which featured a bluegrass instrumental of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
Television
The 2000 animated television program Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer portrays the events depicted in the song — though being made for children, the cartoon is toned down of adult content, so that Grandma does not die, and Santa is actually innocent of the crime, which was instead masterminded by a scheming relative (Cousin Mel, who is mentioned briefly in the song but made into a gold-digging villainness in the special). Elmo Shropshire reads for the voice of Grandpa (as well as being the narrator of the special).
References
- Lisi, Michael (December 10, 2000). "The novelty never wears off for some clever songs written for the season". The Daily Gazette: p. G01. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SDGB&p_theme=sdgb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1110FC8626A399A9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
External links
Categories:- Comedy songs
- Novelty songs
- Christmas songs
- 1979 songs
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