The Chanukah Song

"The Chanukah Song" is a novelty song written by comedian Adam Sandler with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on December 3, 1994.[1] Sandler subsequently performed the song as part of his stand-up act, later updating it with new lyrics. All variations center on the theme of Jewish children feeling alienated during the Christmas season, and Sandler's listing of Jewish celebrities (both real and fictional) as a way of sympathizing with their situation.

Part I (1994)

"The Chanukah Song"
Single by Adam Sandler
from the album What the Hell Happened to Me?
Released 1995
Format CD single
Genre Comedy
Length 3:44
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Adam Sandler, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Lewis Morton
Producer(s) Adam Sandler, Brooks Arthur
Adam Sandler singles chronology
"Lunchlady Land"
(1993)		 "The Chanukah Song"
(1995)		 "Bleeps"
(1996)

This version appeared on Sandler's 1996 comedy album What the Hell Happened to Me?.

Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song":

Sandler also makes reference to the Carnegie Deli, a famed Jewish restaurant that was active in New York City at the time (it is slated to shut down in 2016), and mentions that "you don't need" two holiday songs that, ironically, do not directly mention Christmas: "Deck the Halls," a celebration of the Pagan holiday of Yule; and "Jingle Bell Rock," a rockabilly winter song.

During the final verse, performed originally on Saturday Night Live and on a radio cut, Sandler sings the line "Drink your gin and tonic-ah, but don't smoke marijuan-icah". On the uncut album version, and during various concert appearances, the line was changed to "Drink your gin and tonic-ah, and smoke your marijuan-icah". The uncut version, despite the reference to marijuana, receives most radio airplay today; another radio edit skips completely over the gin and tonic/marijuana line altogether.

Chart performance

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications
Hot 100
[4]		 Adult Pop
[5]
"The Chanukah Song" 1996 80 28

Part II (1999)

The "The Chanukah Song, Part II" was recorded live at Brandeis University for Sandler's 1999 album Stan and Judy's Kid.

Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song, Part II":

Other pop culture references include: Manischewitz wine, Hooked on Phonics and Tijuana, Mexico.

Part III (2002)

Included on the Eight Crazy Nights soundtrack featuring vocals from actor Rob Schneider and the children's choir The Drei-Dels.

Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song, Part III":

Also, in an unedited version that Sandler sings at some of his comedy shows, he replaces the lyric "As for half-Jewish actors/Sean Penn is quite the great one/And Marlon Brando's not a Jew at all/But it looks to me like he ate one" with "Gwyneth Paltrow's half-Jewish/But a full-time Oscar winner/Jennifer Connelly's half-Jewish, too/And I'd like to put some more in her". While this version is not played on radio stations, the music video shows a background screen shows a picture of Sandler licking his lips as the Jennifer Connelly lyric is sung, with shocked laughter coming from the audience. This version is hidden about four minutes after the edited version on the Eight Crazy Nights soundtrack.

Although Sandler does not actually mention Schneider by name as part of the song, he mentions Deuce Bigalow, a character played by Schneider, in the lyric, "we can do it all night long, with Deuce Bigalow" (the "you can do it" line is also a reference to Schneider's recurring "townie" character that originally appeared in The Waterboy). As Sandler mentions Bigelow, Schneider walks on stage, yells, "I'm Jewish!", and joins in for an abbreviated chorus. After the chorus, he sings a Jewish reference for the song (Mickey Raphael, see above), using an Elvis-esque vocal tic, to which Sandler seemingly ad libs "tiny Elvis, ladies and gentlemen, tiny Elvis!" (a reference to a Saturday Night Live skit Schneider performed with Nicolas Cage; and possibly also to Elvis Presley, who was halakhically Jewish on account of his maternal great-great-grandmother[8]) In the rehearsal version, Sandler then gives an aside of, "Schneider, I did not even know you were Jewish," to which Schneider replies, "I'm a Filipino Jew, in fact, I've gotta run home and light the first pig!" In the aired version, Schneider states, "I'm a Filipino Jew." When Sandler muses, "Filipino Jew?" Schneider responds, "There are four of us." He then puts on a blonde wig and joins the "Drei-dels," the backing chorus of children, to whom he is already similarly dressed.

Part IV (2015)

Sandler first performed this version at a live Judd Apatow & Friends event, part of the New York Comedy Festival, in November 2015. Lyrics can be found at the Huffington Post link here.

Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song Part IV":

Covers and spoofs

Jimmy Fallon impersonated Adam Sandler during a Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch on Saturday Night Live on October 24, 1998. In the sketch, Fallon, as Sandler, interrupts Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek by playing guitar and singing (to the tune of the song's chorus and first few verses), "Robert De Niro, Bela Lugosi, Snuffleupagus, and Parker Posey!" (Actually, De Niro, Lugosi and Posey were all raised Roman Catholic.)

In 2004, Jewish-Australian hardcore punk band Yidcore covered it as "The Punk Rock Chanukah Song".

This song was covered on two different occasions for the Broadway charity albums "Carols for a Cure." In 2006, the cast of Broadway's The Wedding Singer sang the first installment of the song, led by Constantine Maroulis, and featuring help from violinist Alicia Svigals. In 2013, the song was covered once again by the cast of Soul Doctor, however this time, the lyrics covered Jewish Broadway personalities, including Mandy Patinkin, Andrew Lippa, Harvey Fierstein, Harold Prince and others. These lyrics were written by the show's Shlomo actor Eric Anderson, who himself has been pointed out in the song as "not a Jew."

In the season 3 The Office episode "Diwali", Michael Scott (Steve Carell) parodies Sandler by performing "The Diwali Song" during a Hindu Diwali festival.[9]

In 2008, Unitarian-Universalist Evan Austin performed a parody of this song called "The Chalica Song"[10] about the Unitarian-Universalist holiday of Chalica. Austin lists celebrities and historical persons who are "Unitarian-Universalists. Or Unitarians. Or Universalists. Or people with similar ideas." In 2009, Austin recorded "The (Second) Chalica Song" [11] with the same tune, but a new list of names.

In 2009, a cover of the song by Neil Diamond was released on A Cherry Cherry Christmas.[12] This version featured several changes in lyrics, including the change from "Tom Cruise isn't but I heard his agent is" to "Tom Cruise isn't, but Jesus Christ is".

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SNL: 12/3/1994 (Roseanne/Green Day) - Weekend Update segment". SNL transcripts. 3 December 1994. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Charlton, James; Shatzkin, Mike; and Holtje, Stephen. The Ballplayers: Baseball's Ultimate Biographical Reference. (New York: Arbor House/William Morrow, 1990), pp 155-156. ISBN 0-87795-984-6.
  3. ↑ Jenkins, Gary (March 1999). Harrison Ford: Imperfect Hero. Kensington Books, 9–12. ISBN 0-8065-8016-X.
  4. ↑ "Adam Sandler Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Adam Sandler Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Adam+Sandler+#search_section
  7. ↑ Jennifer Beals Interview - Apr 2004
  8. ↑ Chandler, Adam (August 16, 2012). "Elvis Presley: Jewish King of Rock". Tablet.
  9. ↑ The Office - Diwali Song (Full), Youtube.com
  10. ↑ The Chalica Song, Youtube.com
  11. ↑ The (Second) Chalica Song, Youtube.com
  12. ↑ Neil Diamond Covers Adam Sandler's 'Chanukah Song', Steve Baltin, Spinner.com, September 29th 2009
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