"The Night Santa Went Crazy" is an original song performed by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific ...

. The

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject m ...

is performed as a

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking i ...

of " Black Gold" by

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of D ...

. It has melodic references to "Black Gold", "

Mama, I'm Coming Home "Mama, I'm Coming Home" is a power ballad by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne from Osbourne's sixth studio album ''No More Tears'', which first released on 17 November 1991. The song features Osbourne on vocals, Zakk Wylde on guitar, B ...

" by

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, and "

I Believe in Father Christmas "I Believe in Father Christmas" is a song by English musician Greg Lake with lyrics by Peter Sinfield. Although it is often categorised as a Christmas song, this was not Lake's intention. He said that he wrote the song in protest at the commerciali ...

" by

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and ...

. It is the twelfth and final track on the album '' Bad Hair Day'', released as a single during the 1996

Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

. The "extra gory" version of the song appears on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic ''The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic'' is a two disc compilation album by "Weird Al" Yankovic. A limited edition "3.0" version of the album has a third disc. It is published by Sony Music's Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an Americ ...

''. Both albums have received positive critical reviews.

Lyrics

The song starts with

Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes ...

making Christmas presents for good, "

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

" children. Suddenly, a drunken Santa bursts in with a rifle in his hand, and covered with

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other we ...

"like a big, fat, drunk, disgruntled Yuletide

Rambo Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...

". He says, " Merry Christmas to all, now you're all gonna die!" He proceeds to destroy half of the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...

, hold the elves and helpers hostage, and kill most of his reindeer in various graphic, sadistic ways. The

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

and FBI come to restore order. The song's epilogue has two different versions, with one version being called the "Extra Gory Version". In the original epilogue, the singer explains to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

that Santa was arrested and locked up in a federal prison, with the possibility of release for "good behavior in 700 more years." Meanwhile, the two surviving reindeer are coping with

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

, the elves get jobs working for the

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

, and Mrs. Claus negotiates

film rights A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

for the incident. In the Extra Gory Version of the song, the singer explains that Santa Claus is dead, as he was shot in the head by "some guy from the swat team", and that the children weren't getting any more presents while the elves had to "stand in line to file for unemployment." The singer surmises that Santa Claus had grown tired of only receiving milk and cookies for his work, concluded he was getting "gypped", and went postal because of it.

Music Video

An official music video for this song was made by TJ Morris. It parodied

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

stop motion animation and recreates the lyrics of the song in graphic detail. The most noticeable difference between the lyrics and the events of the music video is that the epilogue has the Easter Bunny smuggle a metal file to Santa, allowing Santa to escape from prison.

Release

"The Night Santa Went Crazy" was released as the third and final single from ''Bad Hair Day'' on November 26, 1996; the

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any s ...

features "The Night Santa Went Crazy" and " Christmas at Ground Zero", another holiday-themed song from Yankovic's 1986 album ''

Polka Party! ''Polka Party!'' is the fourth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on October 21, 1986. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between April and September 1986, the album was Yankovic's follow-u ...

''. The cover art displays the original drawing of Santa Claus by Mark Osborne that inspired Yankovic to write the song. Though the single did not chart upon original release, it later peaked at number 35 on the United States ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' Holiday Digital Tracks chart in 2010. An "extra gory" version of the song was included as the third track on the " Amish Paradise" single. In this version, Vixen and Donner are not mentioned (leaving their fate ambiguous), Santa is killed by a member of the

SWAT team In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

, and the elves file for

unemployment benefits Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a comp ...

. Another rendition combining elements of the album and the "extra gory" versions was written for Yankovic's Touring with Scissors tour in 1999; it is featured on the ''

"Weird Al" Yankovic Live! ''"Weird Al" Yankovic Live!'' is a live video recording of "Weird Al" Yankovic's concert during the ''Touring With Scissors'' tour, at the Marin County Civic Center, in San Rafael, California, on October 2, 1999. For legal reasons, video clips an ...

'' video album. He later performed "The Night Santa Went Crazy" on the television variety show '' Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular''. The "Extra Gory" version is on the

,''Al's Blog - "The Essential Me"
/ref> and on the album '' Medium Rarities''.

Track listing

* CD single # "The Night Santa Went Crazy" – 4:03 # " Christmas at Ground Zero" – 3:07

Personnel

These credits are adapted from ''Bad Hair Day'' liner notes. * "Weird Al" Yankovic –

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orche ...

, keyboards,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, production * Bernie Grundman – mastering * Steve Jay –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, background vocals * Tony Papa –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing * Colin Sauers – additional engineering * Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

* Rubén Valtierra – keyboards * Jim West –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, background vocals

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night Santa Went Crazy, The Songs about Santa Claus 1996 singles "Weird Al" Yankovic songs Songs written by "Weird Al" Yankovic American Christmas songs Black comedy music Christmas novelty songs 1996 songs Scotti Brothers Records singles