Hell and Wonderland

In order to write perverse lyrics to popular Christmas carols, one must necessarily know the original lyrics. So, I've been researching the words to "Winter Wonderland". There are several variations of the "In the meadow, we can build a snowman" stanza (I don't know if I'm using that word correctly).

In what I believe to be the original version, the verse goes on to say,
"and pretend that he is Parson Brown.
He'll say, 'are you married?'. We'll say, 'no man,
But you can do the job when you're in town.'"

But, there are two other versions I've come across. One replaces "Parson Brown" with "Charlie Brown" and goes on thusly:
"We'll have lots of fun with Mr. Snowman,
until the other kiddies knock him down."

The other variation also uses "Charlie Brown", but then follows:
"We'll have lots of fun with Mr. Snowman,
until the aligator knocks him down."

That's the verson that confuses me the most . Where does the aligator come in? Do aligators have any place in a "winter wonderland"? Who's the nut job who came up with that one?!

Really though, I don't understand why the lyrics need to be changed at all. Could it be that the lyric was outdated? Do people no longer know what a parson is? Maybe it was an adaptation promted by religious stance. A parson probably indicates a certain denomination and maybe it was changed to be more universal. It certainly couldn't be that the implications of those lines in the song were too "adult" for a children's melody. When you think about it, it's kind of a sweet notion. Two people build a snowman and pretend that they're going to be married before it. It's romantic.

So, what could it possibly be, and where in Hell did the aligator come from???

Now, if you want a dirty Christmas song, listen to "Let it Snow" a few times.