Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

I just Googled "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells," and I came upon this uber-nerdy, and when I say uber-nerdy I actually mean awesome, person who chronicled the history of this hilarious, Christmas-song parody that has been passed down through generations from US coast to coast, and just won't die.

My son sings Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. Why? Because I taught it to him. Nothing like a rollicking round of that famous chorus to break up the monotony of the day.

Let's all sing it now.

Jingle bells, Batman smells
Robin laid an egg
Batmobile lost a wheel
And the Joker got away
Hey!

I've been pondering how it can be that people keep this amusing, superhero-offending little ditty alive, year after year, generation after generation.

I think that Jingle Bells, Batman Smells satisfies some sort of inner need to mercilessly mock the world's revered role models while simultaneously bastardizing an iconic Christmas song. Mockery and bastardization rank as two of some of the most satisfying pastimes. Also, the Joker is the clear winner in all this, which is somehow gratifying.

Nothing odd about these two.

Batman and his faithful sidekick, Robin, are two grown men in tights who sport colorful masks and capes, while running around claiming to fight crime. I would also like to point out that they wear their underwear on the outside of their clothes.

My son dresses like this sometimes, but he is six.

Breaking this down further... let us examine the actual lyrics of said schoolyard rhyme. A revered American hero, Batman, discovers that he has an odor problem. Then his faithful sidekick, Robin, flatulates. Or, rather, does he ovulate? I'm not sure if "laid an egg" is meant to be taken literally but it's certainly fun to ponder.

Next, our two heroes get into a car accident, and their arch enemy, the Joker, without whom I'd like to point out there would be no purpose at all to their crime fighting agenda, yet again slips away into the night to continue wreaking havoc on the world.

(I don't know why it has to be night. Isn't it always night-time in the world of Batman and Robin?)

I think, also, that Jingle Bells, Batman Smells lives on because in our homogenized modern society where no matter what you say, you're bound to offend somebody, this is an opportunity to ridicule two bizarrely dressed boy-men without anyone having ANY problem with it!!

Why? Because they don't even exist!

Jingle bells, Batman smells... it just feels to good to sing it.

Did you sing Jingle Bells, Batman Smells in the schoolyard growing up? Do you have an "alternate version"? Do your kids sing it now?

Post in the comments, or share on Facebook.


xo,
Mom