12 Days of Chipmunks: “The Chipmunk Song”
DECEMBER FIFTH: ENSLAVEMENT
Finally, a day where the heading matches the actual date on which the article is posted! Perhaps, when I stop my foolish habit of relying on others, this will become a more likely occurrence. But really, what kind of self-respecting public library closes at 8:00 p.m. on a Monday? Had I known I was going to have to break in to write this article, I would have brought my glass cutter. But of course, I didn’t, so I had to throw a garbage can through the window.
But that’s quite enough about that.
Clearly, “The Chipmunk Song” is about Dave’s struggle to overcome addiction. The Chipmunks, of course, are a personification of Dave’s Id, as evidenced by their obsession with instant gratification. The song they sing is about how they can “hardly stand the wait” until Christmas, and how it had better not “be late”. This may seem preposterous, as Christmas never occurs any earlier or later than December 25th, but dates and inanimate objects seem to take on a life of their own when one is experiencing the symptoms of withdrawal. And, of course, as soon as the song is finished, the Chipmunks want to sing it again. There may have been a time when one performance of the song would tide them over for a week or two, but at this point the returns have so diminished that they can’t go even a minute without their “fix”. Dave’s suggestion that they should perhaps take things in moderation does not sit well with the Chipmunks. Nothing should be denied them, especially not something they enjoy. And at this point, it may be the only thing they enjoy. Dave tries in vain to resist them, but finally acquiesces to his own addictive desires, as represented by the Chipmunks devouring him in a frenzy.
“Hold on”, you say. “I understand the allegory in “The Chipmunk Song”, but all the other Christmas songs on this CD were around long before this CD came out! They don’t have hidden meanings. They’re just about Santa and snow and bells and stuff! How could anyone, even a musical genius like Ross Bagdasarian Sr., tell the story of good against evil, willpower against ego, and nature against civilization, using only Christmas songs? You’re full of shit!”
You bring up some very good points. True, Ross Bagdasarian Sr. did not write “Silver Bells”, “Frosty the Snowman”, or “O Christmas Tree”. It is also true that the songs do not have hidden meanings. However, Ross Bagdasarian Sr. was a MASTER OF METAPHOR. He saw these songs in a way no other person could hope to see them. Like the mad artist who creates a beautiful sculpture out of pieces of trash, he saw the threads connecting “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, “Jingle Bells”, “Here Comes Santa Claus”, and every other song on the album. He saw precisely the order in which those songs should be placed, to tell the story they were truly meant to tell. And when a gap appeared, a gap in the story which no Christmas song could fit, Bagdasarian wrote “The Chipmunk Song”. And, of course, he nailed it.
