"Ho ho ho, who wouldn't go?"

Cafe Society
1

From the song “Up on the House Top” (or “Roof Top,” as some remember it). An earlier thread: Have you heard of the Christmas song "Up On the Housetop?" - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board

“Ho ho ho, who wouldn’t go?
Ho ho ho, who wouldn’t go?
Up on the house top, click click click;
Down through the chimney with good St. Nick…”

So… what does it mean, “Who wouldn’t go?” Who wouldn’t want to clamber up a ladder to see Santa? Who wouldn’t want to ride in his sleigh with him? Something else?

I don’t get it.

2

“If given the opportunity, who wouldn’t choose to accompany Santa Claus on his yearly visit to each and every housetop (each visit to include a trip down the chimney and back)”

3

Who wouldn’t go (to see Santa Claus).:o

4

Who in their right mind puts “a hammer and lots of tacks” and “a whip that cracks” is some kid’s stocking? That’s just kooky talk.

5

On a light note, don’t deny the Munsons their right to a happy Christmas!

On a serious note, I was raised between farms <yes, the best place to be! and then we moved to Chicago when I was 8, also pretty cool> and those sound awesome and useful in the context of, say, Little House on the Prairie or something.

6

On a similar note, I remember this one from a long lost collection of Cthulhu carols:

Up on the housetop, reindeer paws
All that’s left of Santa Claus

7

It was written in 1864, so it can perhaps be forgiven for its gifts being a bit of date.

“an iPod stuffed to the brim with raps,
a Smartphone, too, with lots of apps”

8

When I was 5 or 6 I got some toy tools for a present - but they weren’t plastic stuff, they were good honest metal, just small (kid-sized). My folks found out why I had been so quiet for so long when they found me in a corner, drilling a hole in the trim on the wall.

9

1864? I had no idea the song was that old. I would’ve thought, at the earliest, it was written in the 1910s.

10

That one’s courtesy of the Whipping Father. Guess he had a few extras.

11

Ah. The Anti-Claus.

12

I’ve always interpreted it to mean “Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn’t go? Ho, ho ho, who wouldn’t go up on the housetop (click, click, click) [then] down through the chimney with good Saint Nick?” Because that would be awesome, to get to go up on the roof with Santa and then whoosh! Down the chimney!

13

There’s a movie in that.

14

You’ll like this, then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ftld7Ohojg&feature=related