The Original Lyrics to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” Are Surprisingly Dark

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” cemented its place in the holiday song canon after it appeared in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland. Although the song seems like the perfect fit for the film (and holidays in general) now, there was a time when Garland went head to head with songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane about the song’s lyrical content. 

This back and forth came after Martin and Blane had already come close to scrapping the song entirely, literally throwing it away before rifling through the trash bin to recover it. In the end, Garland’s star power won out over the stubborn songwriters. Martin revised the lyrics, keeping a melancholy tinge to the song without letting it become all-out depressing.

Judy Garland Pushed Back Against “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

Similarly to how “White Christmas” is the pivotal musical moment of the 1954 film of the same name, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was the defining number of Meet Me in St. Louis, a 1944 movie musical starring Judy Garland. Esther Smith, played by Garland, sings the poignant Christmas tune to her younger sister, “Tootie” Smith, played by Margaret O’Brien. In the film, Esther uses the song to console her sister, who is distraught about the family’s upcoming move from St. Louis, Missouri, to New York City. In the original version, Esther used tough love.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, the original hook began. 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. No good times like the olden days, happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who were dear to us will be near to us no more.

…not exactly the most uplifting of pep talks, one could say. Unsurprisingly, Garland pushed back against the lyrics. “If I sing that, little Margaret will cry, and they’ll think I’m a monster,” Garland told songwriter Hugh Martin recalled (via Biography).

“I was young then and kind of arrogant, and I said, ‘Well, I’m sorry you don’t like it, Judy, but that’s the way it is. I don’t really want to write a new lyric,” Martin continued. The songwriter stood by his first draft until another Meet Me in St. Louis actor, Tom Drake, pulled Martin aside and shot it to him straight. “He said, ‘You stupid son of a b****! You’re gonna foul up your life if you don’t write another verse of that song!’” Martin recalled, per Entertainment Weekly.

Even The Revised Lyrics Got Another Change Not Long After

Between Judy Garland’s protests and Tom Drake’s not-so-subtle threats, Hugh Martin eventually agreed to change the lyrics to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The lyrics Garland sang on camera were still melancholy, but they were noticeably more hopeful than the original version.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas; let your heart be light, the new refrain said. Next year, all our troubles will be out of sight. Have yourself a merry little Christmas; make the yuletide gay. Next year, all our troubles will be miles away.

These new changes better reflected the attitude of the song. As Garland’s character, Esther, tries to comfort her younger sister, neither girl knows what future awaits them in New York City. But as Esther says, until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow, creating a sense of acquiescent bravery in the face of the unknown, particularly during a time of year that’s supposed to be comforting.

Even the line about muddling through would prove too morose for some singers, with Frank Sinatra requesting a lyric change for his version, which he released in the late 1950s. Sinatra’s version replaced this line with hang a shining star upon the highest bough, and even Garland adopted this change in later performances.

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