Jingle Bells

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"Jingle Bells", originally "One Horse Open Sleigh", is one of the best known and commonly sung secular Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) in 1857 or before. The song has been translated into many languages as well.

1 Composition
2 Overview
3 In space
4 Parodies and homages
5 Trivia
6 Media
7 See also
8 Footnotes
9 External links

[edit] Composition

Various stories of the song's origins give the place of composition as Savannah, Georgia, Boston or Medford, Massachusetts.^[1] An oft-repeated story is that he wrote it to be sung at a Thanksgiving program at his church in Savannah or Boston, and because of its instant popularity, it was repeated at the Christmas program. The copyright was granted in 1857, and at that time Pierpont was serving as the organist for a Unitarian congregation in Savannah.

[edit] Overview

As originally published in 1857,^[2] Pierpont's song had a different chorus melody, which was more classical, even Mozart-like. The 1857 lyrics differed slightly from those we know today. (The original words are given below in square brackets.) It is unknown who replaced the chorus melody and the words with those of the modern version.

The first verse and chorus are the most often sung (and remembered) parts of "Jingle Bells":

Dashing through the snow

In a one horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bob tails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight

(chorus)

|: Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way;

Oh! what fun [joy] it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh. :|

Music historian James Fuld notes that the "the word jingle in the title and opening phrase is apparently an imperative verb."^[3]

Although less well known than the opening, the remaining verses depict high-speed youthful fun. In the second verse the narrator takes a ride with a girl and loses control of the sleigh:

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

He got into a drifted bank

And then we [we—we] got upsot.

|: chorus :|

In the next verse he falls out of the sleigh and a rival laughs at him:

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.

|: chorus :|

In the next verse, he picks up some girls, a fast horse, and takes off at full speed:

Now the ground is white

Go it while you're young,

Take the girls along

and sing this sleighing song;

Just get a bobtailed bay

Two forty as his speed

Hitch him to an open sleigh

And crack! you'll take the lead.

|: chorus :|

[edit] In space

"Jingle Bells" was the first song broadcast from space, in a Christmas-themed prank by Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra, December 16, 1965. Contacting Mission Control with a report

We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit... I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit...

The astronauts then produced a smuggled harmonica and sleighbells and broadcast a rendition of "Jingle Bells" (Smithsonian Magazine, December 2005 pp25ff).

[edit] Parodies and homages

Like many simple, catchy, and popular melodies, "Jingle Bells" is often the subject of parody. (See Jingle Bells parodies.) In addition to outright parody, many Christmas-themed songs use a snippet of notes from "Jingle Bells", usually from the beginning of the chorus, to establish a holiday theme. Some of these include:

"Jingle Bell Rock" (Bobby Helms) - the best-known homage to "Jingle Bells", directly referencing the source song's lyrics. Originally recorded and released by Helms in a rockabilly style, "Jingle Bell Rock" has itself since become a Christmas standard.

"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (Elmo & Patsy), "Christmas Balls" (The Boulder Boys), "Santa Claus Is Watching You" (Ray Stevens), "Christmas in Hollis" (Run-DMC) - these and other Christmas novelty songs use variations on the "Jingle Bells" chorus as an opening; in addition, the chorus of "Grandma" uses chord patterns derived from a similar pattern in "Jingle Bells".

"The Christmas Song" (Nat King Cole), "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (Bruce Springsteen), "Christmas at Ground Zero" ("Weird Al" Yankovic) - these songs all close with variations of the "Jingle Bells" chorus.

[edit] Trivia

In Ontario (a province in Canada), sleigh bells are mandated by law, and persons breaking the law are subject to a $5 fine. The law states: "Every person travelling on a highway with a sleigh or sled drawn by a horse or other animal shall have at least two bells attached to the harness or to the sleigh or sled in such a manner as to give ample warning sound".^[4]
The "Jingle Bells" tune is used in French and German songs, although the lyrics are unrelated to the English lyrics. Both celebrate winter fun. The French song, titled Vive le vent ("Live the Wind"), was written by Francis Blanche;^[5]^[6] it references Father Time, Baby New Year, and New Year's Day. There are several German versions of "Jingle Bells"; the popular Roy Black version references Kris Kringle (Christkindl) and Christmastime.^[7]
"Jingle" is typically pronounced with a hard-G sound, as in "JING-gull". In some earlier recorded renditions, such as Bing Crosby's, it is pronounced, without the "second" G-sound, as "JING-ull".
Although recorded by hundreds of artists, Kimberley Locke's 2006 version was the first to ever top Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.