Do You Know The Original Title Of ‘Jingle Bells?’

Did you know that one of our favorite Christmas songs had a copyright with a different title before it received the title we're all familiar with? 

In autumn of 1857, James Lord Pierpont published "One Horse Open Sleigh" for a Sunday school choir to sing as a Thanksgiving song. A friend of Pierpont's referred to the song 'a merry little jingle,' It must have stuck because in 1859 it was again published under the revised title "Jingle Bells."

The "Jingle Bells" song was a hit at drinking parties and gatherings. Folks would clink glasses and shake the ice in their glasses as they sang.

Here's the original lyrics.

Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

Bells on bob tail ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight!

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.

These next few lyrics are what the crazy partiers would sing when they wanted to be really naughty. Back in the 1800's, this was very risque` as they were singing about girls.

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 

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 as his speed[b]
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack! You'll take the lead.

So which lyrics do you prefer? The naughty 1800's version or the or the version we're now familiar with?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

[Wikipedia]

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