Friday, December 13, 2013

next year on our troubles will be out of sight

my favorite Christmas song



Have you ever read the history? I looked it up when I noticed that the original song in Meet Me in St. Louis is different than the versions played on the radio today. Turns out the song had to be reworked to be more happy. From wikipedia:

Some of the original lyrics that were penned by Martin were rejected before the show began. They were: "Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last/ Next year we may all be living in the past / Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Pop that champagne cork / Next year we may all be living in New York." When presented with the original draft lyric, Garland, her co-star Tom Drake and director Vincente Minnelli criticized the song as depressing, and asked Martin to change the lyrics.

 Though he initially resisted, Martin made several changes to make the song more upbeat. For example, the 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"....


In 1957, Frank Sinatra asked Martin to revise the line "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow." He told Martin, "The name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?" Martin's new line was "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough." Martin made several other alterations, changing the song's focus to a celebration of present happiness, rather than anticipation of a better future. 

The original is still my favorite, and Judy looks so beautiful.

1 comment:

  1. I had no idea. Such a neat story! And this is my favorite too :)

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