Poll: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

[Teasing the Korean]

This holiday chestnut, written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, was introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis.  The original lyrics are in the future tense and convey a sense of sadness.

Frank Sinatra later requested revised lyrics for his 1957 Capitol album A Jolly Christmas.  These lyrics are in the present tense, to suggest a happy Christmas this year as opposed to waiting until next.

The rewritten lyrics have become more common, although the original lyrics are sometimes performed.  Curiously, Ella does an upbeat, swingin' version, but uses the original bittersweet lyrics.  it creates an interesting contrast in moods.

The rewrite, on the one hand, can be viewed as saccharine.  On the other hand, it can be viewed as conveying defiance in the face of fate, as our troubles are never out of sight, and we won't always be together.

For me, the big problem with the rewrite is the final word, "now."  In the original, after singing about next year throughout the song, the word "now" becomes a lyrical twist, asking us to enjoy ourselves in the present, despite current circumstances.  In the rewrite, "now" becomes an unnecessary word pasted on to make a rhyme.

Which do you prefer?

Edited December 22, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

I prefer the Dexter Gordon version. No lyrical conundrums. The only conundrum is, like, how far behind one beat can you play before it becomes on top of the NEXT one?

Otherwise, the opening line loses me, "have yourself a merry little Christmas", yuck, cute, I almost always HATE cute, and this one is no exception, so, really, no preference.

[Jim Duckworth]

Judy Garland, baby.  And while we're at it, let's remove the more child friendly lyrics from Winter Wonderland and return it to its original carnal intent.

 

[Teasing the Korean]

The original, sad lyrics are currently in a slim lead of only three votes!  

[danasgoodstuff]

The original lyrics to ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ weren’t very... - Classic FM   Is this accurate?  It seems like it skips a step and there should be 3 sets, as written, rewritten for the movie, rewritten again for Frank.  And even the last has a melancholy undertow to me.

[Teasing the Korean]

32 minutes ago, danasgoodstuff said:

The original lyrics to ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ weren’t very... - Classic FM   Is this accurate?  It seems like it skips a step and there should be 3 sets, as written, rewritten for the movie, rewritten again for Frank.  And even the last has a melancholy undertow to me.

There was a stanza that was considered to be too "down," and it was nixed before the debut version.  

I'm really talking about the two published versions, but feel free to put in a plug for the first version.  

[danasgoodstuff]

I prefer the final version, I think it's more artful, sings better, still has a melancholy undertow and is more aspirational and hopeful than the Pollyanna that others apparently hear (or don't hear and project) in it.  YMMV.

[Peter Friedman]

My favorite version is , like Jim, the one by Dexter Gordon.

[Teasing the Korean]

The original, sad lyrics are currently in a slim lead of only four votes!