“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: The 1943 Song Sung by Two Hollywood Greats
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004, it finished at No. 76 in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in North American cinema. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a timeless Christmas song. Have you heard it this year?
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” Explanation
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written in 1943 for the movie “Meet Me in St. Louis,” for which MGM had hired the writers to write several songs. The song appeared in a scene in which a family is distraught by the father’s plans to move to New York City for a job promotion, leaving behind their beloved home in St. Louis, Missouri, just before the long-anticipated 1904 World’s Fair begins.
In a scene set on Christmas Eve, Judy Garland’s character, Esther, sings the song to cheer up her despondent five-year-old sister, Tootie, played by Margaret O’Brien. When she was presented with the original draft, Garland, her co-star Tom Drake, and director Vincente Minnelli criticized the song for being depressing. Several changes made the song more upbeat. For example, the lines “It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past” became “Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight.”
The Revised Lyrics
In 1957, when Frank Sinatra approached Martin to record the song, he asked him to revise the lyrics to promote a more uplifting theme; he particularly criticised the lyric “until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow,” commenting, “the name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?” Martin’s revised lyric was “hang a shining star upon the highest bough.”
Martin made several other alterations to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” changing from the future tense to the present, so that the song’s focus is a celebration of present happiness rather than anticipation of a better future. (However, Sinatra had recorded the original song’s lyrics in 1948.) On The Judy Garland Show Christmas Special, Garland sang the song to her children, Joey and Lorna Luft, with Sinatra’s revised lyrics.
The Song Lives On
In 2001, Martin, occasionally active as a pianist with religious ministries since the 1980s, wrote an entirely new set of lyrics to the song with John Fricke, “Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas,” a religious version of the secular Christmas standard. The song was recorded by female gospel vocalist Del Delker with Martin accompanying her on piano.
In a 2002 interview, singer Michael O’Brien claimed that the line “through the years, we all will be together if the Lord allows” was part of the original song but was purged and replaced with “if the fates allow” to remove religious reference when the song was released. O’Brien stated that while a pastor in a California church in 1990, he had met Martin, who played piano at the church where O’Brien was serving for an evening, and the pastor was told, “That’s the original way I wrote it, so I want you to sing it this way.” It seems “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” had a lot of lyrical changes.
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, and he died on May 14, 1998. He was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes,” he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century. Sinatra is among the world’s best-selling music artists, with an estimated 150 million record sales globally.
It is not possible to overstate how great Frank Sinatra was. He recorded hundreds of songs, many of which became American standards. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is just one of them. He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, and began his career in 1939.
Conclusion
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a timeless Christmas classic. The song has almost certainly been on the radio this year, 80 years after it was written. Frank Sinatra made the song popular, and it is that version you hear nowadays.
