verse 1
Who's got a beard that's long and white
Santa's got a beard that's long and white
Who comes around on a special night
Santa comes around on a special night
Santa's got a beard that's long and white
Who comes around on a special night
Santa comes around on a special night
chorus
Special Night, beard that's white
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
verse 2
Who wears boots and a suit of red
Santa wears boots and a suit of red
Who wears a long cap on his head
Santa wears a long cap on his head
Santa wears boots and a suit of red
Who wears a long cap on his head
Santa wears a long cap on his head
chorus
Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Special night, beard that's white
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
verse 3
Who's got a big red cherry nose
Santa's got a big red cherry nose
Who laughs this way HO HO HO
Santa laughs this way HO HO HO
Santa's got a big red cherry nose
Who laughs this way HO HO HO
Santa laughs this way HO HO HO
chorus
HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
verse 4
Who very soon will come our way
Santa very soon will come our way
Eight little reindeer pull his sleigh
Santa's little reindeer pull his sleigh
Santa very soon will come our way
Eight little reindeer pull his sleigh
Santa's little reindeer pull his sleigh
chorus
Reindeer sleigh, come our way
HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
verse 5
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen,
Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen
Reindeer sleigh, come our way
HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white
Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen
Reindeer sleigh, come our way
HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that's red
Special night, beard that's white
outro
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
song info:
Verified yes
Language
GenrePop
Rank−
Duration00:02:48
Charts
Copyright ©Woodwyn Music Company, Intuitive Music
WriterWilliam A. Fredricks, Hal Moore
Lyrics licensed byLyricFind
AddedMarch 12th, 2010
Last updatedJuly 22nd, 2023
About"Must Be Santa" is a Christmas song written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks and first released in November 1960 by Mitch Miller on Columbia 41814 (45 rpm). A cover version by Tommy Steele reached Number 40 on the UK Singles Chart a year later. Another cover, by Joan Regan made number 42 a week later.
A contrafactum ["the substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music"] of a German drinking song (the Schnitzelbank song), "Must Be Santa" is structured as a call and response, with the lead singer posing the question of who has a certain feature, with a chorus responding that Santa Claus has said feature. After every other verse, the list of features mentioned up to that point is reiterated, followed by the chorus of "must be Santa" repeated three times and ending with "Santa Claus".
Example:
Lead singer: Who laughs this way, ho ho ho?
Chorus: Santa laughs this way, ho ho ho!
All: Ho ho ho, cherry nose, cap on head, suit that's red...
Bob Dylan version
In November 2009, Bob Dylan released a version of the song in a polka-meets-klezmer style (based on an arrangement by Brave Combo, whose version he had played on Theme Time Radio Hour) for his Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart. The New York Daily News described Dylan's version as such: "It's sort of unclear if Dylan (...) was aiming to celebrate the holiday, or gently poke fun at the music's Norman Rockwell-esque simplicity". Following Brave Combo's lead, the lyrics in Dylan's version mix in the names of several United States presidents with a list of Santa's reindeer (e.g., "Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen / Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton"). 11 years after its release, "Must Be Santa" placed 24th in a Rolling Stone article about the "25 Best Bob Dylan Songs of the 21st Century" where critic Amanda Martoccio called the song "zany" and the "centerpiece" of Christmas in the Heart.
Nash Edgerton directed an official music video for "Must Be Santa", described as "bonkers" by Martoccio, in which Dylan lip synchs the song at a raucous Christmas house party with other holiday revelers. Count Smokula makes an unexpected appearance as an accordion player, miming the accordion part that David Hidalgo played on the actual recording. As of Christmastime 2021, the video had been viewed over seven million times on YouTube, significantly more times than the next most popular versions of the song (i.e., those recorded by Mitch Miller, Raffi and Brave Combo). "Must Be Santa" was also released as a music video ecard and a 7" single, the b-side of which is a recording of Dylan reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas that was first broadcast on Theme Time Radio Hour.
A contrafactum ["the substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music"] of a German drinking song (the Schnitzelbank song), "Must Be Santa" is structured as a call and response, with the lead singer posing the question of who has a certain feature, with a chorus responding that Santa Claus has said feature. After every other verse, the list of features mentioned up to that point is reiterated, followed by the chorus of "must be Santa" repeated three times and ending with "Santa Claus".
Example:
Lead singer: Who laughs this way, ho ho ho?
Chorus: Santa laughs this way, ho ho ho!
All: Ho ho ho, cherry nose, cap on head, suit that's red...
Bob Dylan version
In November 2009, Bob Dylan released a version of the song in a polka-meets-klezmer style (based on an arrangement by Brave Combo, whose version he had played on Theme Time Radio Hour) for his Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart. The New York Daily News described Dylan's version as such: "It's sort of unclear if Dylan (...) was aiming to celebrate the holiday, or gently poke fun at the music's Norman Rockwell-esque simplicity". Following Brave Combo's lead, the lyrics in Dylan's version mix in the names of several United States presidents with a list of Santa's reindeer (e.g., "Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen / Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton"). 11 years after its release, "Must Be Santa" placed 24th in a Rolling Stone article about the "25 Best Bob Dylan Songs of the 21st Century" where critic Amanda Martoccio called the song "zany" and the "centerpiece" of Christmas in the Heart.
Nash Edgerton directed an official music video for "Must Be Santa", described as "bonkers" by Martoccio, in which Dylan lip synchs the song at a raucous Christmas house party with other holiday revelers. Count Smokula makes an unexpected appearance as an accordion player, miming the accordion part that David Hidalgo played on the actual recording. As of Christmastime 2021, the video had been viewed over seven million times on YouTube, significantly more times than the next most popular versions of the song (i.e., those recorded by Mitch Miller, Raffi and Brave Combo). "Must Be Santa" was also released as a music video ecard and a 7" single, the b-side of which is a recording of Dylan reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas that was first broadcast on Theme Time Radio Hour.
Album Details
![Bob Dylan - Christmas In the Heart [2009]](https://cdn.lsistatic.com/img/pixel.gif){kind=tracking}