Katherine Kennicott Davis – The Little Drummer Boy

Katherine Kennicott Davis was an American composer who taught music theory and piano.  According to http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/d/a/v/i/s/davis_kk.htm, she wrote over 600 compositions.  Her most famous work is Carol of the Drum (aka The Little Drummer Boy).  Though its earliest recording is from the Trapp family in 1951, Harry Simeone’s Chorale version took her by surprise when she heard it on the radio in 1959.  Since then, just like other famous Christmas songs, several artists re-recorded, altered, and released their versions of this hit song.

Lyrics can be found at https://www.christmassongsandcarols.com/products/little-drummer-boy.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

The little drummer boy, a poor person who came to visit Jesus alongside the Magi, was saddened that he didn’t have anything to offer.  Realizing he could play for the small Christ child, his performance earned the approval of Mary, the oxen, and of course, Jesus, who smiled in response.

While the entire incident is a fabrication, its biggest lesson is to offer Jesus our very best.  This was the difference between Cain and Abel in Genesis 4: Cain made an offering, while Abel offered the very best.  Even though the sum of our work is filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), we are to imitate Abel and not Cain.

Another important lesson is to offer our talents and abilities to serve Christ.  Each of us, according to 1 Corinthians 12:15, is part of the body of Christ.  No two people are the same.  One person is not more important than the other.  We all serve Jesus differently.  The little drummer boy played for Jesus.  I’m a web developer and an analyst, serving by analyzing lyrics.  My wife recently served as a volunteer for Vacation Bible School.  Just because my work reaches a wider audience doesn’t mean that my efforts are more important than my wife’s.  We offer God our best, in whatever capacity we can as part of Christ’s body.  In this capacity, we offer our bodies as our spiritual form of worship (Romans 12:1).

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

While there are certain details that borrow from Scriptural events, the core of this song, though possible, is not Biblically supported.

This song does not contain a Verse/Chorus/Bridge format.  Therefore, I assigned stanzas to each paragraph.

[Stanza 1]

Lines 1-7: “Me” is the speaker in this song: the little drummer boy.  They are led to see the newborn King, Jesus, with their finest gifts to bring.  Most likely, these visitors are the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12, who visited Jesus.  According to Verse 2 and Verse 6, Jesus is to be a King/Ruler who shepherds Israel.  According to Verse 11, they gave gold, frankincense, and myrrh as gifts, which qualifies as their “finest gifts”.  However, the little drummer boy is most likely a made-up character for a lesson outlined in section 1.

The phrases “pa rum pum pum pum” and “Rum pum pum pum” are onomatopoeias for the sound of a drum.  These phrases repeat several times throughout most lines in this song.

[Stanza 2]

Lines 1-5: Curiously, despite traveling with the Magi with their aforementioned expensive gifts, this drummer boy is a poor boy like Jesus.  Yes, Jesus’ parents (and by earthly standards Jesus) were poor at this time.  How do we know?  Leviticus 12:1-8 is the law that Mary and Joseph followed to sacrifice to atone for the blood flow surrounding Jesus during His birth.  Verse 8 tells us that those who can’t afford a lamb can offer “two turtledoves or two young doves” as their sin and burnt offering.  Luke 2:21-24 confirms that they took this route.  If they weren’t poor, then they could afford the lamb, as written in the Levitical law.

Lines 6 and 7: Rather than offering a gift as the Magi did, the little drummer boy offers to play his drum.  Once again, this is unsupported in Scripture.

[Stanza 3]

Lines 1-7: This entire incident is not in Scripture.

Mary is the virgin who birthed Jesus (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-25, and Luke 1:26-38).  While there is no mention of animals in the stable where Jesus was during this incident, I noticed something today in Matthew 2:11 that I hadn’t noticed prior to this review.  it says, “And after they came into the house”.  What?  Yes, it says “house”, not “stable”!  Were there oxen in the house?  Probably not.

Lines 8-10: Repeats line 7.

Score: 5/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Most (if not all) unbelievers are likely aware that this never happened.  However, they should walk away thinking that the drummer gave his very best, which earned the approval of baby Jesus.  Give your best, though not directed towards God for those who do not yet know Jesus, mirrors one of the lessons outlined in section 1.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Though more like a parable than historical fact, this song’s message of offering our best and serving Christ brings God glory.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Katherine Kennicott Davis’ The Little Drummer Boy is a mixed bag.  Though the entire song is not an event supported by Scripture, it borrows from many elements that come from Matthew’s account of the Magi who visited Jesus and offered gifts.  The drummer boy allegorically paints a picture of serving God with our best, bringing Him glory.  While unbelievers will probably know it’s not in the Bible, and that giving our best is the song’s lesson, theirs is not directed toward serving God.

Though not appropriate for corporate worship or recommended during a “church” function, I’m not opposed to others listening to it for personal enjoyment.  However, it’s one of my least favorite Christmas songs.

Final Score: 7.5/10

Artist Info

Track: The Little Drummer Boy (listen to the earliest version by the Trapp family or the more popular Harry Simeone Chorale version)

Artist: Katherine Kennicott Davis

Album: N/A

Genre: Christmas, Choir

Release Year: 1951

Duration: 1:54

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.