This
week marks the 70th anniversary of the debut of one America's most beloved Christmas songs.
The
song is “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” introduced by Judy Garland in
MGM’s 1944 musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Garland simultaneously released a single, out
this day, Dec. 3, 1944, which soared to
the top of the charts, cherished both home and abroad during the still dark
days of World War II. U.S. troops especially
loved her and the song after she brought it to them on one of Bob Hope’s famous
USO tours
Written
by Hugh Martin, the song was sung by Garland’s character Esther to her
5-year-old sister Tootie (played by Margaret O’Brien) as a way to help cheer
her up on Christmas Eve as their family prepared to move from their St. Louis home to New York City.
In a
true “Writer’s Moment” Martin, who died in 2011, told interviewer Terry Gross
(of NPR’s “Fresh Air”) how his famous song almost didn’t come to be. “The song began with the
melody," Martin said. "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." Luckily, his collaborator on the movie, Ralph
Blaine, had heard the tune, too — and told Martin it was too good to throw
away. “So, we dug around in the wastebasket
and found it," Blaine recalled. "Thank the Lord we found it." Then Martin went back to work on writing lyrics.
But
some of the original lyrics were rejected. They were: "Have
yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last/ Next year we may all
be living in the past / Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Pop that
champagne cork / Next year we may all be living in New York." Garland and
her co-star Tom Drake, along with director Vincente Minnelli criticized the
song as depressing, and asked Martin to change the lyrics. Though he initially resisted, Martin finally made
several upbeat changes. The lines
"It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past"
became "Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out
of sight.” And the New York reference
was eliminated, and the first version was recorded.
Hugh
Martin was 30 when he penned his famous song
I say "first version" because in 1957, Frank Sinatra wanted to re-record it
and asked Martin to make one more revision and change a line "Until then
we'll have to muddle through somehow." He told Martin, "The name of
my album is ‘A Jolly Christmas.’ Do you think you could jolly up that line for
me?" Martin went back to the writing board and came out with a
new line: "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough." It became the key to cementing the song as
one of our most beloved during this “most wonderful time of the year.” Definitely a writer’s moment worthy of
sharing, so here’s a link
to the version we’ve grown to love so well – as sung by the wonderful Karen
Carpenter. Enjoy.
Share A Writer’s Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below.
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