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![](http://bobmccarty.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/i_want_a_hippopotamus_for_christmas_are_my_ears_on_straight.jpg "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas -- Are my ears on straight?\\"")
Songs of Christmas begin filling the broadcast airwaves soon after Thanksgiving — and sometimes earlier — every year. What many people don’t recognize, however, is that some of these songs contain subliminal messages from which we all can learn valuable lessons. Case in point is the 1953 song, “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas” (see lyrics and audio here).
Seeming harmless at first, the song revolves around a little girl’s insistence upon receiving a hippopotamus — instead of the often-asked-for pony — as a Christmas gift. After making her case in a variety of ways, the girl declares, “Only a hippopotamus will do.” Roughly halfway through the song, some controversial lyrics follow a short musical interlude:
Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian
What message was John Rox, writer of the music and lyrics, trying to send through this song made famous by songstress Gayla Peevey? I like to think he was trying to point out to children that they should listen to their parents and not to their teachers on any occasions when conflicts of opinion surface.
Unlike the mother in this song, the teacher appears ignorant of the fact that hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) are very aggressive towards humans and are often considered one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.
So there you have it. Pay close attention to the lyrics of those Christmas songs you hear, because they might contain subliminal messages from which you can learn something.
5 responses so far ↓
1 what? // Dec 17, 2008 at 7:37 pm
i think you’re reaching a little bit here, bob. yeah, i guess if she gets a hippo for xmas, there’s a good chance that hippo would bite her in half. i take issue with the girl’s insane selfishness, to think she deserves to have a 3000 lb african mammal shipped to her midwestern home.
2 hotoffthepress2 // Dec 17, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Me? Reaching? Never!
3 Stephanie // Dec 18, 2008 at 8:18 am
Technically, hippos are herbivores, right? I think that’s all the song is saying. Mom is right, but technically so is the teacher.
That happens a lot and it’s confusing for kids, especially when they are trying to make a case for a great Christmas present.
So… not subliminal at all. I think this song hits it right on the nose.
4 amy // Dec 22, 2008 at 12:40 pm
The little girl is actually just stating what she has learned at school. Not that the teacher has disagreed with the mother. However who really cares, it is a just for fun, really cute song. Let it stay that way.
5 Brian // Dec 26, 2008 at 1:22 am
This is about as relevant as it gets at my house. My five year old daughter currently sings this song with her childrens singing group and these exact lines just happen to be her solo. We have laughed about this topic on more than one occasion always envisioning the parent blowing a gasket when the kid responds with the vegetarian comeback. I also can’t hear about hippos without thinking of the guys who have been on the nature shows in the hippo suit interacting with real hippos in the wild. Many close calls with those vegetarians!
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