Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Fun Facts:

• Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane in 1944 for the MGM musical Meet Me In Saint Louis.
• In the movie, a family is leaving the town they love; so Judy Garland sings the song to raise the spirits of her despondent younger sister played by Margaret O’Brien.
• A first version was rejected by Judy Garland for being too depressing; for example, the original chorus written by Blane included: “No good times like the olden days, happy golden days of yore, / Faithful friends who were dear to us, will be near to us no more.”
• Frank Sinatra included the song on his 1957 A Jolly Christmas album, but he asked Martin to change the lyric “Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow” because it wasn’t jolly. Martin rewrote the lyric to read “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.”
• In 2001, Martin, a born-again Christian, released Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas changing the lyrics from secular to religious sentiments.

Notable Covers:

• Connie Francis, 1959
• The Jackson 5, 1970
• The Partridge Family, 1971
• Bert and Ernie, 1978
• The Carpenters, 1978
• Luther Vandross, 1995
• Hugh Martin featuring Del Delker, 2001
• James Taylor, 2006
• Katie Melua, 2006
• Coldplay, 2009