Talk:Jingle Bells

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According to the Trivial Pursuit game, the horse that is pulling the sleigh is named "Bobtail". Therefore the word "Bobtail" in the first verse ("...bells on Bobtail ring") should be capitalized. Is there any source or way to prove this?

A bobtailed horse has had its tail cut short, or bobbed. There's another in "Camptown Races": "Bet my money on the bob-tailed nag, somebody bet on the bay". Ortolan88 00:00, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC) PS - found the original title while looking for this, "One Horse Open Sleigh"
This note is correct; the bogus note in the article is as bogus as "to be sung at a Thanksgiving program at his church in Boston' which is very doubtful, considering the nature of the lyrics. --Wetman 06:16, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
The 1857 text has "bob tail" (no capitalization, two words). I've cleaned up the introduction by making clear the known facts vs. the stories. Echevalier

Contents

[edit] MP3

[edit] Go it while you're young

"Go it while you're young" This phrase has always puzzled me. Recently I found what I think is the source.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/amss:@field(DOCID+@lit(sb10141b))

The refrain is;

Go it while you're young, For when you're old you can't, Let scandal hold her tongue And bid dull care avaunt.

The balance of the song seems a hymn to loose living.

The description given below is nonsensical and doesn't derive from the lyrics at all:

In the next verse, he picks up some girls, times a horse, bets on it, and then 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 bet a bobtailed bay Two forty as his speed Hitch him to an open sleigh and crack! You'll take the lead

Instead, this stanza is in the tradition of "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" and "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time." Somebody should fix that.

Since the word 'bet' is in error (the original is 'get'). Since that is the only support for the explanation that the stanza was about betting, I corrected the lyrics and removed the baseless notion of betting. Echevalier 01:35, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Melody difference

Does anyone know the tune of the original melody?? Georgia guy 19:08, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

I do. The original version (which is MUCH more interesting than what you usually hear) has been recorded in the album A Victorian Christmas (Arabesque Z6525) by the Robert DeCormier Singers and ensemble (at least). I think it's high time we brought it back and dumped the "modern" version, which is an absolute travesty. (I do not object to its inauthenticity, but to its mediocrity.)

I entirely disagree that the original chorus is "less joyful" than the modern version. I actually find it far more joyful. The modern version flattens out the tune, which, in the original version, bounces around a lot more and has a flying piano accompaniment. (The original version has a range of a major ninth. The modern version squeezes it into a fifth. It is easier to sing, but hey, you get what you pay for.)

P.S. I have no connection with Robert DeCormier, his ensemble, or with Arabesque records.

38.117.238.82 06:10, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I have removed the strange comment that Pierpont's original melody for the chorus is "less joyful". Echevalier 01:40, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Original Words

Dashing through the snow, In a one-horse open sleigh, O'er the hills we go, Laughing all the way. Bells on bobtail ring, Making spirits bright, Oh what sport to ride and sing A sleighing song tonight.

|: chorus :| Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way! O what joy it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh.

A day or two ago I thought I'd take a ride And soon Miss Fannie Bright Was seated by my side The horse was lean and lank Misfortune seemed his lot He got into a drifted bank And we got upset

(I suspect that "upset" is an error for the usual "upsot." A line like "Misfortune seemed his lot" is almost certainly contrived largely for the sake of the rhyme.)

|: chorus :|

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 [sic] But quickly drove away

|: chorus :|

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 :|

38.117.238.82 07:02, 14 December 2006 (UTC)


Where the words differed, I included the original words in brackets in the main article. (Words accord with LOC 1857 sheet music, although punctuation and word separation differ.)Echevalier 01:31, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Melody

When did the "new" melodi come?

[edit] Christmas song

It should probably be mentioned that, although widely regarded as a "Christmas song", the song itself is not about Christmas and the lyrics do not mention the holiday. --Coffee 02:59, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps we should create another category of "Winter Songs". Anyone object? Val42 20:57, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
I disagree. Many Christmas songs are about the snow and winter fun without mention of the actual holiday, religious or secular. Kip the Dip 19:46, 28 August 2007 (UTC)


Why is this song, and others like "Sleigh Ride", which have absolutely nothing about Christmas in their lyrics, considered as Christmas songs as opposed to just "Winter Songs"? I sort of agree with Val24, such a category could be useful. It would be possible to list songs like

Jimgle Bells" which are commonly considered as Christmas songs in both categories, and perhaps there are some songs with winter-related lyrics that are not considered Christmas, although I can['t think of one off the top of my head. Wschart (talk) 14:20, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] get / bet

is it "Just get a bobtailed bay" or "Just bet a bobtailed bay" ? -- Cherubino 16:52, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I checked the 1857 sheet music Pierpont deposited with the Library of Congress. It is 'get'.Echevalier 01:28, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] bobtail v Bob's tail, and upsot

I note the edit, 23:37, 28 December 2006 70.109.62.58, which changed "bobtail" to "Bob's tail" in the lyrics.

I have reverted it to the earlier version. It should be noted the original as scanned at the Library of Congress has "bob tail" but that version is also inconsistent regarding the rendering of multisyllabic words across notes. "to night" and "up sot" are also both usually rendered as single words. Additionally there is a note at the alt-usage-english faq that states the facsimile of the 1859 second edition uses "bobtail".


Is "upsot" worth a mention in the article? There is some discussion of it online. There are two instances of it at Bartelby.com from 1870 and 1888. Both are renderings of vernacular speech, are they intended as incorrect usage or genuine representations of dialect? There is no entry for the word at [3] or in the compact OED2. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Useablewikiname (talk • contribs) 03:15, 12 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Lyric changing

4.228.126.220 changed the lyrics to:


Dashing through the snow, On a pair of broken skis, O'er the fields [hills] we go, Crashing into trees; The snow is turnning red, I think I'm almost dead; now I'm in the hospital with stiches in my head;

if it's not him/her change it

[edit] Nice priorities...

When hardly notable "parodies" are given more attention than say French, German, Japanese, etc. real versions. Shinobu (talk) 14:10, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jingle bells, batman smells

This version is commonly sing by childs, the version goes like:

Dashing through the snow

on the pair of broken ski

off the fields we go

smashing in to trres

the snow is turning pink

someone might be dead

someone use the M-16 and shot me in the head

O

jingle bells

batman smells

robin laid an egg

bat-mobile

lost his wheels

joker-ballade

he lost them at October 5, 1990

O this was Greg Lockert's birthday

this was miracle

Anyways, most people sings this today. --Freewayguy (talk) 01:20, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

The song has been translated into many languages. Here is one of the best and commonly sung translations rather open-ended adaptations in Marathi by Jayantkumar Tribhuvan. घण घणती । किण किणती । घंटा चोहिकडे…

घण घणती । किण किणती । घंटा चोहिकडे । गंमत वाटे । घोडागाडी । घसरत जाई पुढे ।। ध्रु ।।

वेगे बर्फातून । घोडागाडीतून । शुभ्र पांढ-या बर्फामधुनि जाऊ पुढे , पुढे ।। १ ।। घण घणती । किण किणती । …… ।। ध्रु ।।

हिमपथ धवल बने । या, गाऊ गाणे । एक होऊ या गाता, गाता जाऊ पुढे, पुढे ।। २ ।। घण घणती । किण किणती । …… ।। ध्रु ।।

सँटाक्लॉज आला । करू आनंदाला । भेट देऊ या प्रीती जगाला, जाऊ पुढे, पुढे ।। ३ ।। घण घणती । किण किणती । …… ।। ध्रु ।।

जयंतकुमार त्रिभुवन —Preceding unsigned comment added by AseemTribhuvan (talk • contribs) 08:53, 2 June 2008 (UTC)