The Twelve Days of Marxmas was published in the Bosses' Songbook, alampoon of the People's Sonbook. I think it was written in the early 1950s. Roy Berkeley was a left leaning folksinger who had a special affinity for Trotsky and Jimmy Rogers. He made his money writing spy novels. He wrote a number of songs for the Bosses' Songbook as did his friend and neighbor, Dave Van Ronk. They combined talents to produce a hilarious takeoff on Woodie Guthrey's "Jesus Christ" song to the tune of "Jesse James"

Born in 29 B.C. in a barn in Galelee, Bathed in his unwed mother's tears He preached to the masses to overthrow the classes, And predated Marx by eighteen hundred years.

Jesus had no wife to mourn for his life, He needed a bath and shave. But that foe of the prolitariat, Judas Iscariot Has laid poor Jesus in his grave.

Mike Miller