Merry Christmas Legal Insurrection Readers!
During my childhood, my maternal grandmother heavily influenced my current love for American Musicals. When my family would visit my grandparents in central Maine, I would would watch her many VHS tapes of Shirley Temple, Rogers & Hammerstein, and Judy Garland musicals.
On this Christmas Day, I would like to share with you one of my favorite movies of all time: Meet Me In St. Louis, starring Judy Garland.
The film was released on November 22, 1944, during World War II. The Director, Vincent Minelli (who proposed to Judy Garland during the filming of Meet Me In St. Louis), recognizing the turmoil of the war on the American psyche and desired to reflect on a happier time: the turn of the 20th century, leading up to the 1904 World’s Fair.
Presented as four seasonal vignettes, the film is abundant with rich colors, poignant songs, and nostalgic charm, just what America needed. During the “Winter” story, Americans heard, for the first, Have Yourself A Very Merry Christmas.
Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, the Christmas song we know now originally had very different lyrics. At this point in the movie, the Smith family is celebrating their last Christmas in their beloved St. Louis, as Mr. Smith has accepted a new position in New York City. Esther Smith (Judy Garland) sings to her youngest sibling, “Tootie” (Margaret O’Brien), to try to comfort her during this transition.
The original lyrics were as follows:
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,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.But at least we all will be together,If the Lord allows.From now on, we’ll have to muddle through somehow.So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
Judy Garland objected to these lyrics, stating, “Margaret will cry, and they’ll think I’m a monster.” Martin went back to the studio and rewrote the lyrics.
I, for one, am glad that Judy Garland had the wisdom to object to the original lyrics. In doing so, she helped create one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time.
Watch and enjoy the one and only Judy Garland sing what is still, in my opinion, the best version of this now classic Christmas song:
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