"Christmas can be a difficult time for some people, a seasonal reminder of dearly loved ones now departed or of hard financial circumstances. In tonight's sweet but somewhat melancholy Christmas song, the singer, struggling to keep real-world trouble and loss at bay, consoles her younger sister with such promises as her heart can provide, and tries to reassure herself, too, that persevering kinship and love will rise to the spirit of the season and somehow hold the day. From the 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis, here's Judy Garland's touching performance of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."What a lovely description, not only of the song, but of the undertone of sweet sadness which accompanies a Christmas spent far removed from beloved people and places. I always dislike it when artists who cover this song sing the alternate lyrics, "Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow/Hang a shining star upon the highest bough," because it seems to rob the song of its character. We all have those times we have to "muddle through", even as we experience the joy of Christmas. Indeed, Christmas leads to the foot of the Cross, but of course we know how that story ends. I take comfort in that when I think of all the people I won't see this Christmas, and a few I won't see again in this life - and how unexpectedly one can pass from the former category to the latter.
If this version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" seems too sad to you, take a look at the original lyrics. I think the version made famous by MMISL hits just the right note. And here's an extra stocking stuffer: it's not a Christmas song, but definitely creates a mood similar to that of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". "Boys and Girls Like You and Me" didn't make it into the final cut of the film.
Oh, Mrs. Beazly you made me cry!!! As I listened to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas I thought of all the Christmases at home when we were children knowing it will never be like that again. But still there are more happy memories to be made with all the new little Beaslys, and the Pinkertons, and Blurns, and all the rest. So onward and upward and God Bless Us Everyone, as that guy said!!
ReplyDeleteAnd that Boys and Girls Like You and Me is also a very pretty little song. Too bad it didn't make it into the movie. You must spent a lot of time on the Internet to find all this interesting stuff.
ReplyDeleteActually, I learned of the deleted song by buying the soundtrack to MMISL. And I spend too much time on the internet.
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