Jingle Bells (disambiguation)

This article is about the original song. For the Year Without a Santa Claus character, see Jingle Bells (character).

Kermit the Frog and Robin sing the song in A Muppet Family Christmas.

Written by:	James Lord Pierpont
Date:	1857

Brad Paisley and the Sesame Street gang perform the song.

"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857. Despite being widely regarded as a Christmas song, it is said to have been written about Thanksgiving.

Composition

James Lord Pierpont originally composed his most famous song in 1850. A plaque commemorating the "birthplace" of "Jingle Bells" adorns the side of a building in Medford, MA. Pierpont wrote the song there, at the former Simpson Tavern, now 19 High Street in the center of Medford Square. According to the Medford Historical Society, the song was inspired by the town's popular sleigh races during the 1800s.

"Jingle Bells" was originally copyrighted with the name "One Horse Open Sleigh" on September 16, 1857. It was reprinted in 1859 with the revised title of "Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh". The song's copyright status has since passed into public domain.

Music historian James Fuld notes that "the word jingle in the title and opening phrase is apparently an imperative verb." However, it is commonly taken to mean a certain kind of bell.

Lyrics

The first verse and chorus are the most well-remembered sections of "Jingle Bells":

Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight!

(chorus)

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.

Although less well-known than the opening, the remaining verses depict high-speed youthful fun. In the second verse, the narrator takes a ride with a girl and loses control of the 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

He got into a drifted bank

And then we got upsot.

|: chorus :|

In the next verse (which is often skipped), he falls out of the sleigh and a rival laughs at him:

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,

But quickly drove away.

|: chorus :|

In the last verse, after relating his experience, he gives equestrian advice to a friend, who then picks up some girls, finds a faster horse, and takes off at full speed:

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.

|: chorus :|

Original lyrics

The 1857 lyrics differed slightly from those we know today. It is unknown who replaced the words with those of the modern version.

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

|: 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 But quickly drove away

|: chorus :|

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 is his speed Hitch him to an open sleigh and crack! You'll take the lead.

|: chorus :|

Alternate versions

Main article: Jingle Bells (alternate versions)

• "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" has been a well-known parody since at least the early 1970s, with many variations on the lyrics (usually "Robin laid an egg / The Batmobile lost a wheel / And the Joker got away"). Bart Simpson, famously miscredited for this version of the song, sings it in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The Joker himself also sings it in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Christmas with the Joker", as well as in the Kids' WB! Kooky Karolfest.
• The end credits of "Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave" features a version sung by Robert Goulet as the singing voice of Mikey, in which he mocks the show's antagonists and praises Christmas vacation. This version was later featured with visuals at the end of the direct-to-video compilation Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street.