"Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel", also known as "The Dreidel Song" and "I Have a Little Dreidel", is a Jewish song that has appeared a few times in the series, beginning with the Season One episode, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo". It was heard prior to that in the short, Jesus vs. Santa.
Background[]
The song first appears in Jesus vs. Santa. In the short, the boys sing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" before Stan Marsh interrupts the song, asking Kyle Broflovski if he's Jewish.
After the boys come to the conclusion that Christmas is all about presents, Kyle announces that if you're Jewish, you get presents for eight days. Stan and Eric Cartman then decide that they want to be Jewish too. The boys leave, singing the song. This scene is briefly recalled in "A Very Crappy Christmas".
In "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo", while Kyle is committed to the asylum and everyone is about to begin their "non-offensive non-denominational holiday play," Sheila Broflovski wishes that Kyle was there to see it. The scene then cuts to Kyle in the asylum, singing the song in a somewhat crazed fashion.
Later, in "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics", Kyle begins singing the song as "I Have A Little Dreidel" to Ike Broflovski while instructing him on how to play with the dreidel. Cartman then enters with his own anti-Semitic verse. Stan later joins in with a verse of his own. Kyle's parents also eventually join in, and they all end up singing their own verses in concert. In this version, Kyle is the only one singing the original words.
Trivia[]
- While Ike attempts to sing the song, he instead sings lines of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and the alphabet song.
- The "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" version of this song was covered by the Broadway cast of Hairspray (which was also composed by Marc Sharman, who did the South Park arrangement) for the 2003 album Carols for a Cure, Vol. 5, with Shoshana Bean (ensemble and understudy for Tracy) singing Kyle's part, Harvey Fierstein (Edna) singing Cartman's part, Michael Longoria (swing) singing Stan's part, Jackie Hoffman (Female Authority Figure) singing Sheila's part, Dick Latessa (Wilbur) singing Gerald's part, and, finally, Chester Gregory II (Seaweed) doing a gospel-flavored "Christ the Savior is born!" that was not in the original. Also, since Fierstein is Jewish and gay, the line "But I'm not gonna play with it, 'cause dreidel's fuckin' gay" is changed to "But I'm not gonna play with it, 'cause I'm too rich and gay", and "That's why they're lame" is changed to "That's why we're lame".
Lyrics[]
Jesus vs. Santa[]
Stan:
"Wait a minute!"
Kyle:
"What?"
Stan:
"Aren't you Jewish, Kyle?"
Kyle:
"Yeah, I think so."
Stan:
"Dude, Jewish people don't celebrate Christmas. You're supposed to sing Hannukah songs."
[long pause]
Kyle:
(singing) "Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay. Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel--"
Stan:
"That's a stupid song."
Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo[]
Kyle:
"Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay. Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, with dreidel I shall play. Second verse, same as the first! DREIDEL, DREIDEL, DREIDEL..."
Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics[]
Kyle:
"I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay. / When it's dry and ready, with dreidel I shall play."
Ike:
"H I J K L O P, up the sun ... like ... all the rain ... came down the rain and washed the spider out"
Cartman:
"J***... Play stupid games... J***... That's why they're lame."
Stan:
"I'll try to make it spin, it fell, I'll try again."
Sheila:
"When you learn to make the dreidel spin, you'll know our people always win.
Gerald:
"Courteney Cox, I love you, you're so hot, on that show."
Album Version[]
Kyle:
Okay Ike, you're my little brother, so I have to show you how to celebrate Hanukkah. This is called a dreidel. You spin it and see where it lands, and you sing this song
I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready, with dreidel I shall play
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay
Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, with dreidel I shall play
Now you try it, Ike. Just spin it with your fingers, like this
Ike:
H-I-J-K-L-O-P
Um, this song, like, go all the way
Play, came down the rain and wash the spider out
Cartman: Hey, what the hell are you doing?
Kyle: Oh, hey, Cartman. We're playing dreidel. You wanna try?
Cartman: Sure.
Here's a little dreidel that's small and made of clay
But I'm not gonna play with it, 'cause dreidel's fuckin' gay
Kyle: Hey, shut your mouth, fatass!
Cartman:
J*** play stupid games
J***, that's why they're lame
Cartman: |
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Kyle: |
Stan:
What's going on? Oh, it's that Hannukah thing
Cartman:
It's so amazing. You spin this thing on the ground and it goes round and round. I could watch it all day.
Stan:
Let me try.
I'll try to make it spin
It fell, I'll try again
Stan: |
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Kyle: |
Stan: |
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Kyle: |
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Cartman: |
Sheila:
Hello boys!
Kyle:
Hi, mom
Sheila:
Oh, how precious! You boys are all playing dreidel. Now you know that dreidel is a time-honored tradition for the Hebrew people.
Cartman:
Yes, we know, Ms. Broflovski, it's so very interesting
Sheila:
Now when you learn to make the dreidel spin
You'll know our people always win, keep spinning!
Sheila: |
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Cartman: |
Kyle:
Oh, hi Dad!
Gerald:
Hello, everybody. Say, can I join in?
Kyle:
Sure!
I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready, with dreidel I shall...everybody!
Kyle: |
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Cartman: |
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Stan: |
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Sheila: |
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Gerald: |
Gerald:
Courteney Cox, I love you
You're so hot on that show
Kyle:
Dad?
Gerald:
Courteney Cox...
Kyle:
Dad!
Gerald:
I love...
Kyle:
We're singing about a dreidel
Gerald:
Oh, sorry
Sheila:
We'll talk about this later, Gerald
Kyle: |
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Cartman: |
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Stan: |
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Sheila: |
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Gerald: |