“Up on the Housetop” is one of my most favorite, venerable Christmas tunes. It is bright, rhythmic and is a tune which everybody knows and can hum along to. Add in bells and a limberjack (for reindeer) and we’ve got the Christmas spirit. Ever since I was a kid, I couldn’t wait until Chrismas came. It seemed to take so long to get here. Then, the Sears & Roebuck mail-order Christmas catalog came in the mail and I knew that we were getting closer. Christmas music — both religious and secular — is a large part of the atmosphere leading up to Christmas celebrations. “Up on the Housetop” is surprisingly easy to play on the mountain dulcimer. I tabbed out a version for standard dulcimer. In the Christmas spirit, I also tabbed out a version on the middle string for a banjo-dulcimer to play.
About “Up on the Housetop“
“Up on the Housetop” (or “Santa Claus”) is considered to be the second oldest secular Christmas song composed in this country and the first to focus on Santa Claus. (“Jingle Bells” or “One Horse Open Sleigh” penned in 1857 is the oldest.) Benjamin Russell Hanby, born in 1833, composed the tune. Hanby was a minister in New Paris, Ohio — close to Dayton, Ohio. He loved music and included the piano and flute in church services much to the displeasure of his congregants. So he left his pastorial job and started a singing school for children to support his family. Lacking funds to purchase sheet music, he composed his own music including “Up on the Housetop” in 1864. George F. Root, the most important sheet music publisher of the times, became aware of Hanby’s gift for composing music. So Hanby and his family moved to Chicago to work for the music publisher. “Up on the Housetop” was first published in print in a quarterly children’s song book titled, “The Song Birds,” in 1866. Sadly, Hanby died of tuberculosis in 1867 at the age of 33. And, the building which housed Root and Cady music publishers and its vast catalogue of music burned to the ground in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This obscured the origins and composer of “Up on the Housetop” for many years. But, the song survrived and eventually the music was credited back to Benjamin Hanby.
It is surmised that Hanby may have derived the song’s theme of Santa and his sleigh landing on the roofs of homes from a poem written in 1822 by Clement C. Moore. We know the poem as, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” or “The Night Before Christmas.”
Many musicians and artists have recorded “Up on the Housetop” over the years. Gene Autry’s (“The Singing Cowboy”) version was recorded in 1953 and is probably the most iconic. Other artists recording popular versions of this song include the Jackson 5, Pentatonix, Geore Strait, Reba McEntire and Raffi.
Playing “Up on the Housetop” on the Mountain Dulcimer
It is easy to play the tune on the mountain dulcimer. In DAD tuning, all the melody notes are found on the melody string (none cross over to the middle or bass strings). The tune does not contain a C# note, or the 6-1/2 fret. Dulcimers which don’t have the 6-1/2 fret can easily play the song in DAD tuning. And, strumming the melody across the strings with drones on the middle and bass strings sounds just fine most of the time. It does help to add the fingerings for an A- chord and G-chord at several places.
This is a rhythmic and bouncy tune. Keep the strums going on all the beats, using a “bump-diddy” or “back and forth” strum as needed. Including jingle bells or a limberjack for rhythmic instruments definately adds to the spirit of the tune.
I have included dulcimer tab for a standard dulcimer. Play only the melody notes on the first string or add harmony notes (in lighter type).
In addition, I wrote a version for a banjo-dulcimer where the notes are moved to the middle string. Create either a banjo-style fingerpicking pattern or a claw-hammered style of strumming youself.
Here is a jpeg image of the song, lyrics and duet (for standard and banjo-dulcimer) followed by PDF files to upload, share and play. I just ask that you don’t publish my tab or post on interent anywhere. But, otherwise, please share with friends and dulcimer players and enjoy the tune and my version.
Let’s enjoy some of these iconic American secular Christmas tunes this year on the dulcimer!
Reference:
https://www.westervillehistory.org/newsletter/up-on-the-housetop
Dulcimer Jambalaya 