Fridays' Unscientific Poll: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

[nanila]

Before Christmas, the bloke & I were amused to discover that the alternate Batman-based lyrics to "Jingle Bells" apparently percolate into the consciousness of children at a very early age.

Since Christmas, we've been amused because Humuhumu will randomly sing them whenever the fancy strikes her, no matter if Christmas is still 10 months away. (As were the elderly couple who were exiting Powis Castle at the same time as us last weekend. They applauded her, which caused her to be overcome with shyness and hide behind Daddy's legs.)

I found it intriguing that the lyrics differ from the ones I sang as a child in the US and are specifically British-English because of the use of the word "motorway". Now I'm wondering if there are other regional variations!

Poll #17326 Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 47

View Respondents

As a child, I mostly sang these alternate Batman-based lyrics to the Christmas carol "Jingle Bells".

View Answers

Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg/Batmobile lost a wheel and Joker got away
20 (52.6%)

Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin flew away/Santa Claus lost his claws on the motorway
4 (10.5%)

Something else which I shall write in the text box
14 (36.8%)

I sang these alternate Batman-based lyrics instead:

View Answers

Comments

[davidgillon]

None of those rang a bell, so I went googling, and found http://www.robweir.com/blog/2006/01/jingle-bells-batman-smells.html, with 400+ replies with versions sung. And part way down I found:
"In North East England in the 1980s the lyrics we used were:

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells,
Robin flew away
Lost his pants in the middle of France
And found them in Bombay – hey!"

I'd have heard it a decade earlier and the last two lines don't entirely ring a bell, but "Robin flew away"? Yeah, that.

[nanila]

I had a look at that blog post, and I gotta say I got stuck at:

Jingle bells, shotgun shells,
Santa Claus is dead,
Rudolf got a .22
and shot him in the head.

WTAF THAT'S A BIT TOO MORBID, PEOPLE

[davidgillon]

Kids these days! ;)