(from “Meet Me In St. Louis”)
Words and music by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane; Arranged by Elena Fortin
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane) is a gem of a Christmas song first written in 1943. It was used in the 1944 film “Meet Me In St. Louis“. Judy Garland introduced this song in a scene where she is comforting a younger sister when they learn they are moving away from their beloved home in St. Louis, just before the highly-anticipated World’s Fair is coming to their doorstep!
A well-beloved holiday favourite, the song has been performed by several different recording artists including Frank Sinatra, Micheal Bublé, Josh Groban, and Sam Smith.
It’s funny that this song turned into a holiday favourite–in the movie, Judy Garland sings it to her little sister (played by Margaret O’Brien) to comfort her because their family is moving to New York City just before the holidays. The song has undergone a few lyric changes since it’s first incarnation–lyrics that were considered to be “depressing” were changed to be more uplifting.
About the arrangement
This arrangement is a nod to classic film–think old style soundtracks with lush orchestrations. I chose to write this song in 12/8 time, so the left hand triplets are accompanying the melody throughout. The triplets give the melody a nice lilt and writing it in 12/8 time instead of 4/4 time with triplets is just easier for editing and hopefully easier to read.
Listen for the surprise change of harmony with a trick chord near the end!
Video Performance
Purchase Information
Clicking on the link below will bring you to a new site: Sheet Music Plus. This arrangement is under copyright with the ArrangeMe program by Hal Leonard.
Sheet Music Plus – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Sheet Music Sample
