You know that feeling when a song starts and you immediately want to both laugh and change the station? That’s the "Dominick the Donkey" experience. One second you're minding your own business, and the next, Lou Monte is shouting "Chingedy ching, hee-haw, hee-haw" into your soul. It’s loud. It’s obnoxious. Honestly, it’s kind of a masterpiece of Italian-American kitsch.
Recorded in 1960, this song shouldn’t have survived the decade. By all accounts of logic, a novelty track about a donkey delivering gifts in Italy because reindeer are too scared of hills should have been a one-season wonder. Yet, here we are in 2026, and if you walk into any deli in New Jersey or South Philly in December, Dominick is basically the patron saint of the holiday.
The Man Behind the Hee-Haw
Lou Monte wasn't some random guy off the street. Born Louis Scaglione in Manhattan, he was the "Godfather of Italian Humor." Before he was singing about donkeys, he was already famous for "Lazy Mary" (Luna Mezza Mare), a song that somehow became a staple at New York Mets games.
Monte had a specific niche. He took old-school Italian culture, mixed it with 1950s American pop, and sprinkled in a heavy dose of Sicilian and Calabrese dialect. He sang about mice (Pepino), cats (Pasqual), and even parrots (Paulucci). He was building a musical zoo.
What’s Actually Happening in the Lyrics?
If you listen closely—assuming you haven't turned it off by the third "hee-haw"—the story is actually pretty specific. Santa is visiting his paisans (friends/countrymen) in Italy. But there’s a problem. The reindeer are apparently great at flying over the Atlantic, but when it comes to the steep Apennine Mountains, they tap out.
Enter Dominick.
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The song claims he’s "the cutest little donkey" and "you never see him kick." This is high-level propaganda because donkeys are notoriously stubborn, but for the sake of the song, Dominick is the GOAT. He wears a derby hat. He carries presents that are—and this is the best line—"made in Brooklyn." Not the North Pole. Brooklyn.
Why the Italian Slang?
The song is a linguistic time capsule. You’ll hear terms like:
- Cumpare: Basically a godfather or a very close friend.
- A tarantell: A reference to the tarantella, that frantic, spinning folk dance your grandparents did at weddings after three glasses of homemade wine.
- U ciucciariell: Southern Italian dialect for "the little donkey."
For Italian-Americans, these weren't just lyrics. They were inside jokes. It was a way of saying, "We see you," to a community that was still bridging the gap between the Old Country and the New York suburbs.
The Mob Rumors (Because Of Course)
You can’t talk about 1960s Italian-American singers without someone bringing up the "Outfit." There has been a long-standing rumor that the Gambino crime family actually financed the recording of "Dominick the Donkey."
Is it true? There’s no hard paper trail, but the song was released on Roulette Records. Roulette was run by Morris Levy, a man whose ties to the Genovese family were so well-documented they could fill a library. Whether or not "made men" were pushing Dominick into record stores, the legend only adds to the song’s gritty, cult-classic charm. It gives a silly donkey song a bit of a Sopranos edge.
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The 2011 UK Invasion
For decades, Dominick was a regional secret. If you weren't from the Tri-State area or an Italian household, you probably didn't know him. That changed in 2011 thanks to a British DJ named Chris Moyles.
Moyles, a massive personality on BBC Radio 1, started playing the song as a joke because his newsreader was named Dominic Byrne. He told his listeners to buy the track on iTunes to see if they could get a 50-year-old novelty song to the top of the charts.
It worked.
Sort of. Dominick climbed all the way to #3 on the UK Singles Chart, beating out modern pop stars and actual current hits. It was a bizarre moment in music history where a donkey from 1960 was suddenly the biggest thing in London.
Why Do We Still Listen?
Honestly? It’s because the song is unpretentious. Most Christmas music is trying to make you cry or feel "magical." Dominick is just trying to make you dance a tarantella. It’s built on a foundation of 1960s "Joe Reisman’s Orchestra" brass and a rhythm that is impossible to ignore.
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It’s also about identity. In Italy, people don't really know this song. If you play it in Rome, they’ll look at you like you have three heads. This isn't an "Italian" song—it's an Italian-American song. It belongs to the people who grew up eating struffoli and hanging plastic covers on their sofas.
Real Talk: Is It Actually Good?
Musically? It’s a repetitive nightmare.
Culturally? It’s a 10/10.
It represents a specific era of "novelty" music where everything didn't have to be a polished, autotuned anthem. It’s raw, it’s silly, and it’s surprisingly inclusive. Everyone can join in on the chorus. Even if you don't know a word of Italian, you know how to make a donkey noise.
How to Handle Dominick This Season
If you want to actually appreciate the track without losing your mind, here’s the move:
- Context is everything. Don't play it as background music while you're trying to have a serious dinner. Play it when everyone is two drinks in and someone mentions "the old neighborhood."
- Watch the 2023 Philly Specials version. Jason Kelce and the Philadelphia Eagles linemen covered it for their charity Christmas album. It’s proof that the song is still the "dark horse" (or dark donkey) of holiday music.
- Learn the "Brooklyn" line. Shouting "They're made in Brooklyn!" is the mandatory high point of the song.
Dominick isn't going anywhere. He's survived the 60s, the British charts, and the rise of streaming. He’s the stubborn little donkey that could. Whether you love it or hate it, you have to respect the hustle of a jackass in a derby hat who managed to outlive most of the reindeer.
If you're looking to dive deeper into the Lou Monte catalog, check out his other animal-themed hits like "Pepino the Italian Mouse." Just be warned: once you enter the Lou Monte cinematic universe, the "hee-haws" and "squeaks" will stay in your head until at least February. You've been warned.