Artist: wocky steele for the Fremantle Rabblers for study only.Composer: Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Copyright: 1944GoChords.com
Have your-self a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light,
From now on our troubles will be out of sight...................................................
Have your-self a merry little Christmas, make the Yuletide gay..........................
From now on, our troubles will be miles a way.........................................................
Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore.....................
Faithful friends who are dear to us gather near to us, once more.........................
Through the years we all will be to-gether, if the fates al low.....................
Hang a shin-ing star upon the high-est bough, and
Have yourself a very merry Christmas, now..................................................................
note: Downstrokes firmly thru last line, gradually slowing to G6 and fin.
Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for the 1944 musical "Meet me in St Louis", it was sung by Judy Garland. As a wartime stage show the original lyric "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last, next year we may all be living in the past" was rejected. After several re-writes it was finally put into the show in final form by its director Vincent Minelli, whence it became a signature tune, sung many times by Judy as she entertained the US forces in forward camps during the remainder of WW2 . The song is now the 3rd most often played and sung at Chiristmas time in the USA.
But it was when Sinatra decided to put the song into his Christmas Album in 1957 that he had the second last line changed from " until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" to the present form "hang a shining star upon the highest bough"....and one other change was allowed to Gospel singers who "have themselves a blessed little Christmas!"
And guess what?
In his autobiography, Martin claimed that Blane played no part in writing the songs for the show at all! He claimed that he had allowed Blane's name to appear on the titles and profit from the screen and sheet music credits and roayalties only because he (Martin) was so naiive and hopelessly incompetent in business -
So much for musical collaborators eh?
Well now, have yourself any Christmas you may wish for.....
Wocky Steele April 2014.
Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for the 1944 musical "Meet me in St Louis", it was sung by Judy Garland. As a wartime stage show the original lyric "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last, next year we may all be living in the past" was rejected. After several re-writes it was finally put into the show in final form by its director Vincent Minelli, whence it became a signature tune, sung many times by Judy as she entertained the US forces in forward camps during the remainder of WW2 . The song is now the 3rd most often played and sung at Chiristmas time in the USA.
But it was when Sinatra decided to put the song into his Christmas Album in 1957 that he had the second last line changed from " until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" to the present form "hang a shining star upon the highest bough"....and one other change was allowed to Gospel singers who "have themselves a blessed little Christmas!"
And guess what?
In his autobiography, Martin claimed that Blane played no part in writing the songs for the show at all! He claimed that he had allowed Blane's name to appear on the titles and profit from the screen and sheet music credits and roayalties only because he (Martin) was so naiive and hopelessly incompetent in business -
So much for musical collaborators eh?
Well now, have yourself any Christmas you may wish for.....
