Be careful what you wish for. Peace? Joy? Two front teeth? Or a hippopotamus? This novelty Christmas song was written by John Rox and originally recorded by 10-year-old Gayla Peevey in 1953. Peevey was a child star from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  She appeared singing the song on The Ed Sullivan Show in November, 1953. That year, the song sold more than half a million copies. The song was not initially meant as a fundraiser for the Oklahoma City zoo, but a local promoted capitalized on the popularity of the song and did launch a successful fundraising campaign and did give Peevey a baby hippopotamus for Christmas. Peevey donated it to the zoo. Matilda, as the hippo was called, lived for 47 years.

Gayla Peevey had other songs on Columbia Records in the 1950s. She then recorded as Jamie Horton on Joy Records and had songs out in the early 1960s. Peevey says, “If you’re going to have a hit song, make it a Christmas song, because it comes back every year!” The song is a Dr. Demento staple and a holiday favorite. There have been numerous covers of the song, including versions by Bobb Keeshan as Captain Kangaroo, Captain & Tennille, The Three Stooges, Gretchen Wilson, Terry Hall, Jonas Brothers, LeAnn Rimes, Sesame Street’s Big Bard with Anne Hathaway, and Kacey Musgraves.

Here are the lyrics to “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” by Gayla Peevey:

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don’t want a doll, no dinky tinkertoy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don’t think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won’t have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door
That’s the easy thing to do

I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian

There’s lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I’d feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage

I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop music, rock and roll hits, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

Please click here for the Daily Doo Wop YouTube channel, to which you can subscribe. Thank you for stopping by The Daily Doo Wop. Hope you enjoyed “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” by Gayla Peevey.