And Mel Torme, who wrote a beautiful new verse for it, was really out of this world. But here’s what you gifted one young gay boy. So that’s the version I’ve linked to below…here’s Michael Bublé with his luscious version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”…. Hugh Martin died aged 96 in 2011, while Ralph Blane passed away in 1995 at the age of 81. As neither songwriter is with us any more, I don’t suppose we’ll ever know the truth, but it is worth mentioning that in 1956, more than a decade after the “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” featured on-screen in “Meet Me In St Louis”, the duo recorded an album called “Martin And Blane Sing Martin And Blane”, which included both “The Trolley Song” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”. In 1989, Martin and Blaine, who has since died, joined Terry Gross for a discussion about their lives and the story of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which has since been recorded by scores of musicians — including Tori Amos, Garth Brooks, Robert Goulet, Lady Antebellum, James Taylor and Bob Dylan, to name just a few — in the past 65 years. Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald also recorded “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, and their respective gifts for phrasing popular songs make their performances a thing of beauty too. About. Disputes are set aside in the spirit of togetherness. And Frank Sinatra, you can't beat 'Mr. "Then we wrote the one you know in the movie.". It was written for the 1944 musical movie Meet Me in St Louis, starring Judy Garland. Here’s why. It's really a great song potentially, and I think you'll be sorry if you don't do it.' We want to hear what you think about this article. In 1957, Frank Sinatra asked Martin to change the line "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow. In the 1944 musical, Garland’s character, Esther, is the second-oldest daughter to the Smith family, living happily in St. Louis until her father is called to relocate to New York for work. On Christmas Eve, Esther comes home from a holiday ball to find her younger sister worrying that Santa won’t be able to find them after the move. ", Martin's new line was "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.". That’s such a wonderful piece of writing. History and facts about Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. In large part, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is such a popular song for this time of year because it captures the experience of Christmas so perfectly without resorting to over-used imagery or tired metaphors. The song popularized by Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis captures the bittersweet nostalgia many feel around this time of year. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Lyrics. Madrigal. But the first draft was too sad, and Judy Garland asked for a revision. An opportunity for reflection is becoming increasingly rare in our busy world, except perhaps at Christmas time when something as simple as a hug from someone we love very much, but haven’t seen since last Christmas, reminds us just how much they matter in our lives…, Through the years we all will be togetherIf the fates allowHang a shining star upon the highest bough. That would be too obvious. "The [film producers] said, 'No, no — it's a sad scene, but we want sort of an upbeat song, which will make it even sadder if she's smiling through her tears," Martin said. Some of the original lyrics by Martin were rejected before filming began. There’s a delightful cadence to the lyrics…, Here we are as in olden daysHappy golden days of yoreFaithful friends who are dear to usGather near to us once more. ", On The Many Covers Of 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "The strangest version [I heard] was by a group called Twisted Sister. Next year we may all be living in New York. I have a funny feeling about that little tune. Luckily, Blaine had heard the tune, too — and told Martin it was too good to throw away. Lyrics to the christmas song Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. ", He told Martin: "The name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Both “The Trolley Song” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” were credited to the same songwriting team — Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane — although in his biography, only released after Ralph Blane’s passing, Martin claimed the work was all his and disputed Blane’s role in writing the lyrics for those two classic songs. I just hate Santa Claus and the jingle bells and reindeer and the wrapped packages and the holiday push. At the same time, the imminent end of the current year means we can put the past behind us and move into a new year with a positive sense of hope and anticipation for what lies ahead. The song "began with the melody," Martin said. Who wrote 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'? This included the lines "It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past", which became "Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight". "We dug around the wastebasket and found it," Blaine recalled. “There’s no place like home” is a quote from a very different Judy Garland movie, but it encapsulates the spirit of Meet Me in St. Louis just as well. It may be your last The song also held special resonance for American soldiers fighting in Europe when the movie came out, and Garland sang it live at the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen on their way overseas. Happy birthday, Madonna. It’s still a wonderful, and much-loved song for this time of year. Not easy to sing, I suspect, but when a great singer gets that phrasing just right, it’s a thing of beauty. Judy Garland, of course, [was] always tops with me. ", "My favorite Christmas memory was of being 6 or 7 years old, and my mother decorating the tree. None of us will be here forever. On The Original Version Of 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', "The original version was so lugubrious that Judy Garland refused to sing it. He said that "all of the so-called Martin and Blane songs, (except for 'Best Foot Forward'), were written entirely by me without help from Ralph or anybody else. "I found a little madrigal-like tune that I liked but couldn't make work, so I played with it for two or three days and then threw it in the wastebasket.". Songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine wrote the classic song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for Judy Garland's 1944 movie, Meet Me … Martin’s original lyrics, he told NPR’s Terry Gross in 2006, were deemed too sad, so he was obliged to rewrite them. “Meet Me In St Louis” is probably better known for “The Trolley Song”, but “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” has become a Christmas classic over the years, whereas it’s only fans of the golden age of musicals like me who obsess over “The Trolley Song”…one of the most chipper songs ever recorded, in my view. Next year we may all be living in the past In fact, apart from the title in the refrain, Christmas isn’t mentioned at all in the song. It was covered by The Browns [US2], Betsy Curtis, Blake Aaron featuring Jeff Gonzales, Blue Seven and other artists.