The Other Eight Reindeer

Good Wednesday morning! I hope you're all surviving the elements out there...mine include ice, snow, and more ice, not to mention freezing cold temperatures. 'Tis the season for snow days, shoveling, and lots and lots of lesson cancellations :(

Today's topic is reindeer. We all know and love Rudolph, because after all, he is the most famous reindeer of all. I sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with my students last year more times than I care to count, so this year I decided to change things up a bit. The result was "The Other Eight Reindeer", an ode to Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. This song confuses everyone upon first listen, because I purposely wrote the first line to sound like the original "Rudolph" song. Most people get a kick out of it, though!


Sheet Music: $1


Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer lights the way,
Rudolph leads the pack when Santa flies his sleigh,
But Rudolph’s not the only one, he needs a little help to get the big job done,
What I’m talking about is clear: the other eight reindeer.

Next in line is Dasher, Dasher, fly away,
Now there are seven more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Dancer, Dancer, fly away,
Now there are six more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Prancer, Prancer, fly away,
Now there are five more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Vixen, Vixen, fly away,
Now there are four more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Comet, Comet, fly away,
Now there are three more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Cupid, Cupid, fly away,
Now there are two more, helping guide the sleigh.
Next in line is Donner, Donner, fly away,
Now there is one more, helping guide the sleigh.
Last in line is Blitzen, Blizten, fly away,
Now there are no more, helping guide the sleigh.

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer lights the way,
Rudolph leads the pack when Santa flies his sleigh,
But Rudolph’s not the only one, he needs a little help to get this big job done,
What I’m talking about is clear: the other eight reindeer.

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen,
Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen,
Reindeer. The other eight reindeer.
The other eight reindeer.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer needs some help.

I hope you and your students enjoy this tune just as much as we have. Oh, and it's ok to sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" every once in a while, too!