12/1/06: Eddie Cantor: “The Only Thing I Want For Christmas
                            (Is Just To Keep The Things That I've Got)” (1939)

Did anyone even notice when we declared this a Novelty Song Theme Week? Probably not. It was still a better idea than just a Christmas theme week to start off the season. In fact, we’re not even featuring this Eddie Cantor tune because Christmas is coming. We’re just appalled by the crass commercialization of World AIDS Day.

This song remains a holiday classic that’s more relevant than ever—especially since “The Only Thing I Want For Christmas” begins with Cantor being interrogated by an Associated Press reporter. The legendary radio star was smart to make sure his reply was properly recorded.

Cantor begins with a little spoken word:

        What do I want for Christmas?
        Well, it’s simple and it’s plain
        It isn’t tied in ribbons
        Or wrapped in cellophane

Then the Great Man sings:

        If Santa passes by my stocking
        I promise not to mind a lot
        The only thing I want for Christmas
        Is just to keep the things that I’ve got

Those things include a pair of loving arms around him, and a place to hang his hat after a hard day at work. Cantor’s also got a friend (or two) and a peaceful sky of blue. Before the song ends, there’s another spoken interlude:

        You know, there’s a lot of unhappiness in the world today
        But we still have peace over here
        In this country, we really have Christmas
        365 days a year

Cantor was saying that as a Jew who’d already endangered his career by speaking out against the rise of Hitler. Today, of course, Cantor wouldn’t give the terrorist-hugging creeps at the Associated Press a second glance. Things were saner back in 1939.

Gentiles should also note that it was Cantor who’d turned “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” into a holiday classic. Leftists will complain that we’re honoring a guy who appeared in blackface, but that’s a meaningless complaint. Cantor would endanger his career again by (literally) embracing Sammy Davis, Jr.

Make it your own: Everybody needs more Eddie Cantor in their life, and the out-of-print 44-track Columbia Years: 1922-1940 can still be had fairly cheap. That includes today’s merry Christmas tune—as does this really cheap collection, even if linking to it gives away a few more tunes that’ll show up here before the holidays are over.

 

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