12/12/07: “Merry Christmas, Neighbor” (1963)Much like Ozzie Nelson in that episode with Sam Drucker, we’re slow getting into the Christmas spirit this year. According to modern television, of course, that’s to be expected. We’re not even supposed to have a heart. The worst Christmas sitcom ever was that episode of
Family Ties where Alex P. Keaton decided that he wasn’t even going to give anyone in his family any presents—because it’s always young Republicans who are complaining about Christian holidays.
So it’s time to saddle up our favorite Christmas song: “Merry Christmas, Neighbor,” by The Cartwrights: Ben, Little Joe & Hoss—or, as usually billed on
Bonanza, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, and Dan Blocker.
The classic TV western was set in the 1860s, with Ben Cartwright owning the sprawling Ponderosa Ranch. In fact, the Ponderosa sprawled so much that it was hard to avoid trespassing onto the Cartwrights’ property. For a while, this was routinely used to create tension on the series. Lorne Greene finally suggested to the producers that it made more sense for the Cartwrights to have some understanding that their property covered most of Nevada.
The family became a lot friendlier to the occasional errant visitors. That later warmth is demonstrated on 1963’s “Merry Christmas, Neighbor.” (The show was already five years into a 14-season run.) The song opens with patriarch Ben Cartwright wishing all his neighbors…well, a merry Christmas. From there, the Cartwrights are accompanied by a cheery chorale that sounds like the King Family took a wrong turn somewhere near Texas. And met up with a harmonica player.
Each cast member offers spoken-word best wishes to mothers, fathers, and all men the world through. Meanwhile, the chorus is singing about how “May it always be/Just as neighborly/As it is tonight.” This is a particularly good year to be listening to the Cartwrights’ classic message. There are plenty of film critics anxiously waiting for their chance to celebrate the upcoming
There Will Be Blood. You’ll be reading lots of raves about how the epic storyline captures the pioneering American spirit of rampant greed and fraudulent Christianity.
There Will Be Blood isn’t quite that simple, but that’s going to be the angle on all the reviews. There will be critical groupthink. Now, we never thought we’d be defending the realism of
Bonanza—even if those weren’t real leprechauns in the “Hoss and the Leprechauns” episode. “Merry Christmas, Neighbor” still easily outdoes
There Will Be Blood in demonstrating the true role of community and religion in our country’s dramatic growth. Especially as practiced by the filthy rich. Even Lorne Greene could understand that, and the guy was Canadian.
Make it your own: There’s a lot of great music from the
Bonanza series, although Michael Landon couldn’t make it as a Ricky Nelson. “Merry Christmas, Neighbor” was originally included with more traditional songs on
Christmas On The Ponderosa. We thought we’d be directing you to an expensive German import, but it turns out that the original album has been reissued as
a budget CD. You can also find “Merry Christmas, Neighbor” on some cheap compilations, with our favorite being
A TV Christmas Dinner.
A last sad note:
Bonanza’s long run on NBC would only be topped by
Law & Order—further proving there’s no justice in the world.
