Advent 2019 Day 23:Jingle Bells: the Song and Interesting Facts

Jingle Bells (long version)

Dashing through the snow

On a one horse open sleigh

O’er the fields we go,

Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtail ring,

making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun 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 Fanny Bright

Was seated by my side;

The horse was lean and lank

Misfortune seemed his lot

We got into a drifted bank,

And then we got upsot.

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Jingle all the way!

Oh, What fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Jingle all the way!

Oh, What fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh.

Now the ground is white

Go it while you’re young

Take the girls tonight

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

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Jingle all the way!

Oh, What fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Jingle all the way!

Oh, What fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh.

Interesting Jingle Bells facts:

“Jingle Bells” is one of the best-known and commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh” in the autumn of 1857. It was originally written to be sung by a Sunday School choir.

Although originally intended for the Thanksgiving season in autumn and having no connection to Christmas it became associated with Christmas music and the holiday season.

“Jingle Bells” was the first song broadcast from space, in a Christmas-themed prank by Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra. While in space on December 16, 1965, they sent this report to Mission Control:

„Gemini VII, this is Gemini VI. We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, up in a polar orbit. He’s in a very low trajectory traveling from north to south and has a very high climbing ratio. It looks like it might even be a … Very low. Looks like he might be going to reenter soon. Stand by one … You might just let me try to pick up that thing. I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit.” Ground controllers then began to hear the strains of none other than “Jingle Bells,” being played by the astronauts on a harmonica backed by miniature sleigh bells. Today, those bells and harmonica are on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Every December, an old battle known as “The Jingle Bell Wars” rages on. The folks of Medford, Massachusetts, claim their town is the real birthplace of the famous holiday tune, as Pierpont was still living there in 1850 when it was allegedly written at the local Simpson Tavern. This isn’t a battle the South is prepared to lose: Savannah’s tourism guide maintains “Jingle Bells” was penned in the very church it premiered. That doesn’t stop Medford from holding an annual Jingle Bell Festival or dubbing itself “The Jingle Bell City.”

“We take full ownership of it,” says Medford Mayor Stephanie M. Burke in 2016. “It’s got a long history, and we’re proud of it.”