John Lucas

There are plenty of melancholic Christmas songs, and they tend to fall into a couple of different categories. There’s the lovelorn variety, exemplified by “Blue Christmas” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, and the missing-home type, like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”.

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” belongs in the latter category, sort of. In the context of the movie for which it was written, the song is really more about the anticipation of missing home. Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis, the tune underscores a moment of family turmoil, as everyone grapples with the father’s decision to accept a job promotion that will force them to relocate to New York City. On Christmas Eve, Judy Garland’s character, Esther, sings it to lift the spirits of her heartbroken five-year-old sister Tootie, played by Margaret O’Brien.

No, really, this song is supposed to cheer the kid up! At least, that was the brief. When Martin and Blane delivered the song, though, its lyrics were a little darker than the ones we all know and love today: “Have yourself a merry little Christmas/It may be your last/Next year we may all be living in the past.”

Gee, thanks, sis. I feel much better now.

Needless to say, Garland found these lines a tad depressing, and so did her co-star Tom Drake and director Vincente Minnelli (Garland’s future husband). Martin initially resisted making any changes, but ultimately bowed to the pressure and altered a few 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”.

Even with these changes, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was still too dour for Frank Sinatra. Sure he had recorded the song that way in 1948, but when he decided to take another crack at it for his 1957 Christmas album, Sinatra zeroed in on the line “until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow,” reportedly telling Martin, “the name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?”

In response, Martin rewrote it as “hang a shining star upon the highest bough.” He also made a number of other tweaks, shifting the lyrics from the future tense into the present, so the song leans more toward celebrating joy in the moment than waiting for happier days to come.

This was the right move, all things considered. After all, not many people actively want to feel depressed in the festive season; and for those who do, well, that’s what A Charlie Brown Christmas is for.