When I was putting together this collection, I asked everyone I ran into what their favorite holiday songs or stories were. One of my coworkers told me his was “The Little Drummer Boy.” When I asked him why, he told me that, when his daughters were tiny, he had made up a song that he sang to them at bedtime. It was to the tune of “The Little Drummer Boy.”
The girls, along with his wife, had died in a car accident a year and a half before we had that conversation. I remembered some children singing this song at the memorial service.
This has never been a song that I liked especially, but now I can’t hear it without thinking of this man. His story makes me hug my own children tighter, and reminds me of how fragile we all are. How our lives can change in an instant.
It’s also a reminder to check in with those who have experienced losses. The holidays can be rough when you’re missing someone, and the world around you is relentlessly merry and bright.
THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone
Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born 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 the 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.
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