Jingle Bells

Plaque at 19 High Street, Medford, Massachusetts

Historical marker in Savannah, Georgia

Title page

First half of the chorus

Second half of the chorus and other verses

Musical notations of the original version

It is an unsettled question where and when Pierpont originally composed the song that would become known as "Jingle Bells". A plaque at 19 High Street in the center of Medford Square in Medford, Massachusetts, commemorates the "birthplace" of "Jingle Bells", and claims that Pierpont wrote the song there in 1850, at what was then the Simpson Tavern. According to the Medford Historical Society, the song was inspired by the town's popular sleigh races during the 19th century.[7]

"Jingle Bells" was originally copyrighted with the name "One Horse Open Sleigh" on September 16, 1857.[8] Mrs. Otis Waterman, one of Pierpont's friends, described the song as a "merry little jingle", which became part of its new name when published in 1859 under the revised title of "Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh".[9] Pierpont's lyrics are strikingly similar to lines from many other sleigh-riding songs that were popular at the time; researcher Kyna Hammil reasoned that this, along with his constant need for money, led him to compose and release the song solely as a financial enterprise: "Everything about the song is churned out and copied from other people and lines from other songs—there’s nothing original about it. He’s making money."[5]

The date of the song's copyright casts some doubt on the theory that Pierpont wrote the song in Medford, since by that date he was the organist and music director of the Unitarian Church in Savannah, Georgia, where his brother, Rev. John Pierpont Jr., was employed. In August of the same year, James Pierpont married the daughter of the mayor of Savannah. He stayed on in the city even after the church closed due to its abolitionist leanings.[10]

"Jingle Bells" was often used as a drinking song at parties: people would jingle the ice in their glasses as they sang.[11][12] The double-meaning of "upsot" was thought humorous, and a sleigh ride gave an unescorted couple a rare chance to be together, unchaperoned, in distant woods or fields, with all the opportunities that afforded.

Music historian James Fuld notes that "the word jingle in the title and opening phrase is apparently an imperative verb."[13] In the winter in New England in pre-automobile days, it was common to adorn horses' harnesses with straps bearing bells as a way to avoid collisions at blind intersections, since a horse-drawn sleigh in snow makes almost no noise. The rhythm of the tune mimics that of a trotting horse's bells. However, "jingle bells" is commonly taken to mean a certain kind of bell.

Jingle Bells

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:

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

In the last verse, after relating his experience, he gives advice to a friend to pick up some girls, find a faster horse, and take off at full speed:

Notes to lyrics

The original 1857 "Jingle Bells" had a substantially different chorus featuring a more classical-style melody. The "I V vi iii IV I V I" chord progression is a common theme in classical music; except for the final two chord changes, the melody as originally written follows the same chord progression as Pachelbel's Canon. The verses are, with a few trivial variations, melodically the same in the modern version as they were originally written. The origin of the simpler melody used since the 20th century for the refrain are unknown, but it dates no later than 1898, when the oldest surviving phonograph recording of the song was released through Edison Records.

The "Jingle Bells" tune is used in French and German songs, although the lyrics are unrelated to the English lyrics. Both songs celebrate winter fun, as in the English version. The French song, titled "Vive le vent" ("Long Live the Wind"), was written by Francis Blanche[14][15] and contains references to Father Time, Baby New Year, and New Year's Day. There are several German versions of "Jingle Bells", including Roy Black's "Ein kleiner weißer Schneemann".[16]

James Lord Pierpont's 1857 composition "Jingle Bells" became one of the most performed and most recognizable secular holiday songs ever written, not only in the United States, but around the world. In recognition of this achievement, James Lord Pierpont was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

"Jingle Bells" was first recorded by Will Lyle on October 30, 1889 on an Edison cylinder, but no surviving copies are known to exist.[6] The earliest surviving recording was made by the Edison Male Quartette in 1898, also on an Edison cylinder, as part of a Christmas medley titled "Sleigh Ride Party".[6] In 1902, the Hayden Quartet recorded "Jingle Bells". The song became a Christmas favorite in the early twentieth century.[5]

In 1943, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters recorded "Jingle Bells" as Decca 23281[17] which reached No. 19 on the charts[18] and sold over a million copies. In 1941, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, Ernie Caceres, and the Modernaires on vocals had a No. 5 hit with "Jingle Bells" on RCA Victor, as Bluebird 11353. In 1935, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra reached No. 18 on the charts with their recording of "Jingle Bells". In 1951, Les Paul had a No. 10 hit with a multi-tracked version on guitar. In 2006, Kimberley Locke had a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart with a recording of the song.

"Jingle Bells" has been performed and recorded by a wide variety of musical artists, including Rosemary Clooney, The Ray Conniff Singers, Louis Armstrong, The Beatles, The Chipmunks, Judy Collins, Nat King Cole (also using the melody at the end of his hit song "The Christmas Song"), Perry Como, Plácido Domingo, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford, Spike Jones, Barry Manilow, the Million Dollar Quartet (Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley), NSync, Luciano Pavarotti, Laura Pausini, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Frank Sinatra, Gwen Stefani, Barbra Streisand, Fats Waller, and Yello, among many others.

Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford of Gemini VI (1965)

In 1955, Don Charles, from Copenhagen, Denmark, recorded a novelty version with dogs barking to the melody of "Jingle Bells" as RCA 6344, and a version credited simply to "St. Nick" called "Jingle Bells (Laughing All the Way)" features someone laughing, rather than singing, the entire song.

Like many simple, catchy, and popular melodies, "Jingle Bells" is often the subject of parody. "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" has been a well-known parody since the mid-1960s,[22] with many variations on the lyrics.[23] Bart Simpson sings this version on The Simpsons, the first time being on "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (December 17, 1989).[24] The Joker himself also sings it in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Christmas With the Joker" right before he "got away". These lyrics were included in the 2013 film Prisoners starring Hugh Jackman; also Mike Nelson, Tom Servo, and Crow sang those lyrics over the opening credits of Santa Claus in episode #521 of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Comedian Phil Snyder recorded a full-length version of the song, adding new verses utilising other comic superheroes.[25] This same parody was also done in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants with the lyrics being changed to refer to the characters Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. At the end of the first run of Elmo's World segment of Sesame Street, it ended with a song about the subject set to the tune of the song mentioning only the subject of the segment.

Parodies or novelty versions of "Jingle Bells" have been recorded by many artists, and include Yogi Yorgesson's "Yingle Bells", Da Yoopers' "Rusty Chevrolet", Bucko and Champs' "Aussie Jingle Bells", The Three Stooges' "Jingle Bell Drag", and Jeff Dunham's "Jingle Bombs", performed in his "Achmed the Dead Terrorist" sketch. Another popular spoof of the song is "Pumpkin Bells", a "Pumpkin Carol" which celebrates Halloween and the "Great Pumpkin". It originated in The Peanuts Book of Pumpkin Carols,[26] a booklet based on the "Peanuts" comic strip and published by Hallmark Cards in the 1960s.[27]

The Australian "Aussie Jingle Bells" broadly translates the idea of the original song to the summertime Christmas of the Southern hemisphere:

Aussie Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden ute,
Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot,
Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,
It's Summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute.

Other verses add further details about what happens when the Ute arrives at the family Christmas.

Musical notation for the chorus of "Jingle Bells"

"Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms pays homage to "Jingle Bells", directly referencing the source song's lyrics, but with a different melody. Originally recorded and released by Helms in a rockabilly style, "Jingle Bell Rock" has itself since become a Christmas standard.[28]

In the Brian Setzer Orchestra version of the song, the first occurrence of "one-horse open sleigh" in the chorus is changed to "'57 Chevrolet", most likely to better suit the band's throwback rock 'n' roll/big band style.

The first notes in the chorus have become a motif that has been inserted into recordings other Christmas songs, most notably a guitar passage at the end of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" and Clarence Clemons performing a saxophone solo in the middle of Bruce Springsteen's "Merry Christmas Baby"; a piano is also heard playing these notes at the end of Springsteen's version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". A slow version of the chorus opening forms the conclusion of Stan Freberg's 1957 "Green Chri$tma$", interspersed with cash-register noises. Mariah Carey utilizes a bit of the melody in her song "When Christmas Comes". The Tijuana Brass version of "America", which is not a Christmas song, nonetheless begins with the first few notes of "Jingle Bells".[29]

This song was sung as "Dingillerrr" ("The prick" in Turkish slang) by Grup Vitamin in 2015 album, Endoplazmik Retikulum, for satirizing such as consequences of Istanbul's enormous growth; Turks gradually get the jitters; and deforestation of Turkish cities.[30]

In 2010 the Israeli satirical website Latma produced a parody titled "Jihad Bells", where the Palestinian Minister of Uncontrollable Rage explains the persecution of Christians in the Muslim world.[31]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jingle Bells (song).

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Jingle Bells

• Search result for recordings, AllMusic
• Sheet music of "The One Horse Open Sleigh" at the Library of Congress
• The Story of "Jingle Bells" by Roger Lee Hall, New England Song Series No. 3
• Free arrangements for piano and voice from Cantorion.org
• James Lord Pierpont—discussion of the song's history
• Complete lyrics and further details to "Jingle Bells"
• Jingle Belles on IMDb, 1941 film with Gloria Jean