Composer Hugh Martin co-wrote "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for the 1944 movie, "Meet Me in St. Louis," that starred Judy Garland. But the song went through several revisions before the movie came out and then several more revisions across the decades.
Production of movies is always a collaborative venture, and the early versions of this song were just too negative to suit Ms Garland and the producers.
Much of the movie is a downer: A family anticipates being uprooted from the home where they have lived for years and having to move to big, scary New York City. This will separate them from longtime friends.
The song as sung in the movie reflects this discouragement and uncertainty. They hope for the day when "Faithful friends who were dear to us/Will be near to us once more . . . if the Fates allow." But until things are back to normal, they feel they will "have to muddle through somehow." So, with
all that in mind, the song ends, "have yourself a merry little Christmas now."
In later decades, the song enjoyed new popularity when the song was recorded by a string of pop singers, led off by Frank Sinatra. He wanted to sing it in an album called "A Jolly Christmas," and muddling through the season didn't sound very jolly. So, Mr. Martin replaced muddling with hanging a star on the highest bough of the tree in order to have a merry little Christmas.
One more highly significant revision came many years later. Mr. Martin became a Christian and wrote a specifically Christian version called "Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas." The lyrics proudly announce: "Christ the King is born," and the listener is urged to sing "hosannas, hymns, and hallelujahs . . . and have yourself a blessed little Christmas now."
P. S. I plan to reactivate this Christmas Potpourri Blog for the 2014 season with the goal of helping myself and others have a Blessed Little Christmas along with the traditional Merry Little Christmas.
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