We were at a British friend’s house recently singing some Christmas carols, during “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” they and their children starting singing something about “Bring us some figgy pudding”. WTF?? I’d never heard this line or any of the subsequent figgy related lines in my life.
They insisted that that is the “correct, proper and original” version of the song. Say it ain’t so!!! I’ve never heard that in North America ever in my 50+ years! My (Canadian) wife says she’s only heard the figgy version once or twice only, but that about it.
My online search shows that there are a few variations of the song, but nothing specific one why, when, where etc.
Is the “figgy” variant the “correct, proper and original” version? The “figgy” bits don’t seem original to me at all. They seem to change the tone of the song from a fun Xmas carol to much more of a kid’s joke song.
Was it morphed when it came to the colonies? (Presumably because we have no clue what “figgy pudding” is; does Kraft even make an instant version?)
Did I just lead a sheltered Canadian life? I was surprised that I’ve never heard this version given all the British influence in Canada, especially in the mid-sixties when I grew up.
Yes, it’s f’real. The line is actually, “Bring us a figgy pudding, etc…” See George C. Scott’s version of, “A Christmas Carol,” for a demonstration–Cratchitt tests his wife’s FP and declares it a triumph.
v1 “We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”
v2 “Now bring us some figgy pudding, and bring it right here”
v3 “Cause we all like figgy pudding, so bring it out here”
v4 “And we won’t go until we’ve got some, so bring some out here”
And you can cycle back for another v1 at the end, if you have a mind to.
Those medieval carollers could get pretty in-your-face.
Now to really blow your mind … Auld Lang Syne has FIVE verses! And I’m pretty sure you can still hear 'em all sung in Scotland too…
Gonzo: Now bring us some figgy pudding…
Miss Piggy: Piggy pudding?
Gonzo: No, figgy pudding; it’s made with figs…
Miss Piggy: Oh, sorry.
Gonzo: And bacon.
Miss Piggy: What?
I’m actually having a hard time imagining the song without the figgy pudding – it’s the whole point of the thing.
It might help if you know that carolling used to be more like trick-or-treating: gangs of people roaming from house to house, singing outside the door until they were bribed (with food, drink or money) to go and bother someone else. Since the drinks offered were usually alcoholic, things sometimes got pretty rowdy.
Gramatically, there’s nothing wrong with “a” figgy pudding. It could be served in a single container before being divvied up.
Bring me a Lancashire hot pot, a Welsh rarebit, a Spotted Dick. Those are all correct. It’s only when you’re talking about a portion of each dish that you would say “some.”
Also, how can it not scan? Both “a” and “some” are only one syllable.
I remember singing the “figgy pudding” lines in elementary school and wondering what the heck that was. The only pudding I had ever seen was instant pudding from a box, and the only figs I had encountered were inside of Fig Newtons.
I’ve spent my life in North America (also married to a Canadian wife) and I’ve never heard it without the figgy pudding lines. Does the OP just sing the first stanza over and over? I guess there is also “Good tidings we bring to you and your kin.”
I went to a Beer & (Christmas) Hymns at a local pub the other night and it was full of people who sang for figgy pudding with vigor, so I’m pretty sure they were all familiar with the line.
