Jingle Bells

The words and music for this Christmas classic were written by James Lord Pierpont, a popular American composer, in 1857 with the title of "One Horse Open Sleigh." Pierpont was a member of a staunch Unitarian Church family, and his father was a minister. It was originally written for a local Sunday school entertainment on Thanksgiving Day in Savannah, Georgia. Its catchy tune was soon taken up by Christmas revelers.

You probably know the chorus and the first verse of this song ("Dashing through the snow..."), but three more verses were published. The song is typically sung with just the opening chorus, first verse, and one last chorus, making it a tidy tune for children. The ensuing verses flesh out more of the story, but as attention spans diminished, they got truncated. The second verse finds our sleigh rider picking up a girl and heading for adventure: A day or two ago I thought I'd take a ride And soon Miss Fanny Bright Was seated by my side The horse was lean and lank Misfortune seemed his lot We got into a drifted bank And then we got upsot In the third verse, the rider falls out of his sleigh and is laughed at by a passer-by. In most popular recordings of the song this one is omitted: A day or two ago, The story I must tell I went out on the snow, And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a one-horse open sleigh, He laughed as there I sprawling lie, But quickly drove away. The fourth verse seems to be encouraging some kind of sleigh drag race: Now the ground is white Go it while you're young Take the girls to night And sing this sleighing song Just get a bob-tailed bay Two forty as his speed Hitch him to an open sleigh And crack, you'll take the lead

Some of the many artists to record this song include Jim Reeves, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Lawrence Welk, Andy Williams, Michael W. Smith and Kimberley Locke. Perry Como took the song to #74 in the US in 1958. The only other charting version of this song came thanks to streaming. Frank Sinatra's version peaked at #49 in 2019, #43 in 2020, #33 in 2021 and #20 in 2022.