Peter Cottontail

 "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" is a popular secular Easter song composed in 1949 by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. They also wrote "Frosty the Snowman" in 1950. Mervin Shiner was the first person to record the song, on Decca Records in 1950. It reached #8 on Billboard Hot 100. The name "Peter Cottontail" was used by a character in a 1914 Thornton Burgess book, but may not have been previously used to refer to the Easter Bunny.

Due to the immense popularity of Gene Autry's Christmas songs "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", Nelson and Rollins asked Autry to record their song. His 1950 version was on the Columbia label and peaked at number 3 on the U.S Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Nelson and Rollins also wrote non-Easter lyrics to the tune that later appeared on the 1963 Walt Disney Records Peter Cottontail Plus Other Funny Bunnies and their Friends. 

To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hopping' down the bunny trail,
Hippity, hoppity,
Easter's on its way.

Bringing' every girl and boy
Baskets full of Easter joy,
Things to make your
-- Easter bright and gay.

He's got jellybeans for Tommy,
Colored eggs for sister Sue,
There's an orchid for your Mommy
And an Easter bonnet, too.

Oh! here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hopping' down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Happy Easter day.

Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hopping' down the bunny trail,
Look at him stop,
and listen to him say:

"Try to do the things you should."
Maybe if you're extra good,
He'll roll lots of
-- Easter eggs your way.

You'll wake up on Easter morning
And you'll know that he was there
When you find those chocolate bunnies
That he's hiding everywhere.

Oh! here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hopping' down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Happy Easter day.