TwinCities.com: VocalEssence behind those 'Twelve trucks a-towing'

Pioneer Press, 11/30/2009

A Christmas classic with a Minnesota twist. That's the tune you might have heard the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers performing on a new Target commercial.

Set to the tune of the "12 Days of Christmas," VocalEssence recently recorded a localized version of the song for Target. It aired last week during a Holidazzle Parade broadcast on WCCO-TV. A radio version will air on regional stations during the last two weeks of December.

You can watch the commercial on the VocalEssence Web site — vocalessence.org/target_12days. Our only complaint? The absence of a hot dish reference, uff da!

Here are the lyrics to the Minnesota version of the "12 Days of Christmas":

"Twelve trucks a-towing, 11 plastic Santas, 10,000 lakes, nine warming houses, eight skaters skating, seven Snoopy statues, six loons a-laying, five hours of sun, four Fargo jokes, three salt bags, two 'ya, you betchas' and a giant cherry on a huge spoon!"

— Amy Carlson Gustafson