The Little Drummer Boy

Many find the relation of a drummer boy to the nativity story confusing. Indeed, the Bible never mentions any musicians at Jesus’ manger, let alone drummers who could wake up the baby.

Drummer boys played crucial roles during Civil War, marching beside soldiers and beating their drums to help navigate the procession. But it isn’t a war song, after all.

To unravel the profound message concealed behind the cheerful, lighthearted lyrics of The Little Drummer Boy, we must learn the legend it was based on.

Lyrics

Come, they told me pa-rum pum pum pum
Our newborn King to see, pa-rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King pa-rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum. rum pum pum pum
 
So to honor Him pa-rum pum pum pum
When we come
 
Little Baby pa-rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa-rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring pa-rum pum pum pum
That’s fit to give our King pa- rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
 
Shall I play for you, pa-rum pum pum pum
on my drum?
 
Mary nodded pa-rum pum pum pum
The Ox and Lamb kept time pa-rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him pa-rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him pa -rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum
 
Then He smiled at me pa-rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum

Origins

The Little Drummer Boy was initially called Carol of the Drum. Unlike many popular Christmas carols like Jingle Bells, O Holy Night, or We the Three Kings of Bethlehem Are, this song is a relatively recent creation, composed in 1941.

The carol’s author, Katherine Kennicott Davis, was an American pianist and teacher. The same year she composed The Little Drummer Boy, Katherine became a member of the American Society of Composers.

Some sources speculate that the lyrics of The Little Drummer Boy were inspired by a Czech carol Hajej, Nynjej, a lullaby dedicated to infant Jesus. However, the chair of Wellesley College, where Davis used to work, debunks this myth.

According to Claire Fontijn, the chair of the Music Department of Wellesley College, Davis drew inspiration from the French song Patapan. Patapan transformed into “pa-rum-pum-pum,” and the song acquired a rhythm.

Katherine was passionate about music all her life and continued to compose it until she became severely sick in the late 1970s. Then, she left all her royalties, including those from The Little Drummer Boy, to Wellesley College’s Music Department to support local students.

Although Davis has written over 600 compositions, The Little Drummer Boy was undoubtedly the most famous. However, the composition owes its success not solely to Katherine’s talent.

The first recording of The Little Drummer Boy was made by Austrian singer group Trapp Family Singers in 1951 and released by Decca Records. However, this recording didn’t earn worldwide popularity.

In 1957, Jack Halloran included his cover of the song in his album Christmas Is A-Coming. This arrangement became well-known and is commonly sung today, but the most famous version of The Little Drummer Boy was recorded a year later.

In 1958, Harry Simeone was contracted by the Twentieth-Century Fox Records label to record a Christmas album, for which he assembled a band, The Harry Simeone Chorale. The label then introduced him to an unknown song called Carol of the Drum.

Simeone changed the song’s name to The Little Drummer Boy and included the recording in his album Sing We Now of Christmas. Although Simeone didn’t write the lyrics, nor did he compose the melody, he received joint authorship with Davis.

Later, Jack Halloran’s daughter Dawn wrote a letter to a music collector Jerry Osbourne stating that her father made the original choral arrangement but didn’t get credit, while Simeone became famous and earned money for a song he had nothing to do with.

Simeone’s credit was well-deserved, though, because if not for him, the song could have never become as famous. His version of The Little Drummer Boy scored on American music charts until 1962.

In 1965, Simeone recorded a renewed version of the song for his album O’ Bambino: The Little Drummer Boy, with a slower tempo and different cymbals, but it wasn’t equally successful as the original.

Simeone’s recording wasn’t the only noteworthy version of The Little Drummer Boy. In 1977, it was performed by a legendary duet of Bing Crosby and David Bowie for a holiday TV special Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas.

In 1982, this version spent ten weeks in the U.K. Top 40 Singles chart. Unfortunately, Crosby died soon after releasing the Christmas TV special. In 2011, Justine Bieber included the song in his Christmas album Under the Mistletoe.

The Little Drummer Boy once again peaked in charts when Pentatonix released a digital single. Later, the cast of a famous American TV series, Glee, recorded a cover that reached No. 31 on the Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart.

Davis’ song had such an immense success that in 1968, Rankin/Bass Productions released a stop motion TV special, The Little Drummer Boy, on the CTV Television Network. The special was first aired in Canada, followed by an American release on NBC.

The Little Drummer Boy animation narrates the story of a Jewish boy Aaron, living a peaceful life with his parents, camel, donkey, and lamb. For Aaron’s birthday, his parents give him a drum. He happily plays it, and his farm animals dance.

However, one night, bandits steal the livestock, kill Aaron’s parents, and burn his house. Because Aaron can make animals dance, the bandits force him to perform in an amusement park.

Sometime later, Aaron and his troupe meet the Magi, who follow the star of Bethlehem, and the boy attempts to perform for them, but the Wise Men are too busy.

However, one of Magi’s camels becomes weak from the long way, and the bandits give away Aaron’s camel in exchange for gold. Then, Aaron and his remaining two animals escape, climb a tall hill, and join the Magi.

Aaron’s lamb gets injured along the way, and the Magi say that perhaps baby Jesus could help. Because Aaron has no gifts to give Jesus, he plays his drum as a sign of gratitude, and Jesus heals his lamb.

The TV special had a high approval rate and received a sequel nearly a decade later. Although the lyrics of The Little Drummer Boy don’t unravel as many details as the TV special, the carol perfectly fits the plot.

Meaning

Most Christmas hymns narrate the nativity story familiar to any Christian, but not The Little Drummer Boy. The song’s lyrics often confuse listeners who struggle to understand what a drummer boy has to do with baby Jesus and the Magi.

There is not a hint of the drummer boy in scripture. Furthermore, most mothers would require silence from their child’s visitors and become furious if someone was banging the drum.

The plot of The Little Drummer Boy is pure fiction, based on an old legend about a poor boy Zach who always dreamt of playing the drum at parades. Zach’s parents gave him a drum for his birthday.

One day, Zach witnessed a parade near his house and realized it was his only chance to become a part of the colorful gala. He slipped outside and took his drum along. Then, Zach joined the end of the procession.

However, Zach noticed that the parade participants weren’t ordinary people. They were all wealthy, dressed in exquisite attires, traveling on camels. Zach figured out that they were headed to King Herod’s palace.

But Zach’s speculation was wrong. The parade headed towards Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, guided by the miraculous star that appeared in the sky. Everyone carried expensive gifts to the Messiah, but Zach had nothing.

After everyone gave gifts to baby Jesus and left, Zach stood alone in the shed. He didn’t have anything to offer Jesus, so he began slowly playing his drum, to which the baby responded with a smile.

This legend is similar to The Little Drummer Boy TV special’s plot. Although some details differ, the meaning of The Little Drummer Boy legend, song, and animation is the same – the greatest gift one could give to another for Christmas is love.

The boy didn’t have anything valuable but had dreams and faith. He was devoted to his goal and wanted to share his love for music with everyone around him.

The song begins with, “Come, they told me,” referring to how the Magi told the boy to join them on their way to Bethlehem. The Magi brought the finest gifts to honor the “newborn King,” and Jesus is the King of all Jews.

In the second stanza, Zach says, “I am a poor boy, too,” drawing links between him, an ordinary human boy, and Jesus, the son of God and the King of all Kings, who was equally humble.

Jesus never sought praise. He was simultaneously a God and a man who was ready to sacrifice his life to grant people salvation, giving them a chance for eternal life.

When the boy asks, “Shall I play for you?” Mary, ox, and lamb nod. Then, the boy played his best – we don’t know whether his musical skills were any good, but he genuinely wanted to please the baby Jesus and his mother, Mary.

Finding a worthy gift for someone you love deeply can be challenging – this thought is emphasized in the line, “I have no gift to bright that’s fit to give the King.” But no gift is worth more than love.

The message of The Little Drummer Boy is simple – the thought and effort value more than material gifts.

Sources