Merry Little, What...

The number two Christmas song right now is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" only behind Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song". Although this song is upbeat and happy, do you know that the words you are singing were not the original? Here is the background of the song and the original words.

The song originated in the Judy Garland movie " Meet Me In St. Louis". It was to be sung by Judy to her younger “movie” sister, Margaret O'Brien, to show how depressed they were about moving to New York. When Judy read the lyrics she asked to have the lyrics changed. She knew that if she sang the song the way it was written to a child, her fans would think her a monster. Hugh Martin, who wrote the song, didn’t want to change the lyrics at first, but changed when a friend talked him into it. The original version was never recorded. Even though the song was changed for Judy, in 1957 Frank Sinatra was recording a new album, “A Jolly Christmas”, and he wanted a happier version. He went to Hugh Martin and asked him to rewrite the song again. He did so and now there are two versions that are sung today.

Here are the lyrics:

ORIGINAL VERSION
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
It may be your last
Next year we may all be living in the past
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Pop that champagne cork
Next year we may all be living in New York
No good times like the olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who were dear to us
Will be near to us no more
But at least we all will be together
If the Lord allows
From now on, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

JUDY GARLAND VERSION
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yuletide gay
Next year all our troubles will be miles away
Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who were dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

FRANK SINATRA VERSION
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yuletide gay
From now on, our troubles will be miles away
Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more
Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now


To read the whole story of the song, go to Entertainment Weekly. There is so much more to the story.