Though James Lord Pierpont wrote Jingle Bells, the song is hardly original. So in this instance, “jingle bells” refers to the sound the bells made, rather than a type of jingle-bell itself. In snow, and in the dark evenings, it would have been impossible to hear other horses coming around corners, so the bells helped to avoid collisions. The bells of the song’s more famous title referred to those tied to horses’ harnesses: as well as causing excitement during the races, the jingling sound they made alerted riders to the presence of nearby hooves. Originally titled The One Horse Open Sleigh, the song was one of many “sleighing songs” written in the mid-1850s, with titles such as The Bonny Sleigh and The Merry Sleigh Ride!, to celebrate the sleigh races held in North America’s snowy climates, or to recount the more private pastime of taking a sleigh ride with a loved one. And it’s true that Jingle Bells was only copyrighted in 1957, which would have made for an unusually long time between writing the song and claiming ownership of it, had Pierpont remained in Medford and penned Jingle Bells in 1950.Ĭertainly, however, Massachusetts was an inspiration for Jingle Bells, which was, so some scholars have suggested, originally written to be sung during Thanksgiving celebrations, or even as a drinking song, rather than for the Christmas season it has since come to embody. However, over 1,000 miles south, in Troup Square, Savannah, Georgia, a different plaque claims that Pierpont wrote Jingle Bells seven years later, while serving as the organist and musical director of the city’s Unitarian Universalist Church.įurther research has suggested that Pierpont, who had been born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1822, had moved away from his home state as early as 1849, when he left his first wife and family behind in order to take part in the California Gold Rush. At 19 High Street, in Medford, Massachusetts, a plaque claims that Pierpont “wrote the song Jingle Bells in the presence of Mrs Otis Waterman, who later verified that the song was written here” in 1850, in what was then the Simpson Tavern. But exactly where and when Pierpont wrote Jingle Bells is the subject of some disagreement. Jingle Bells was originally written in the 1850s by James Lord Pierpont, a composer, organist and Confederate soldier who was also uncle to JP Morgan, the investment banker behind the multinational financial corporation of the same name. Expect rivalries, space travel and a lot of horseplay… Listen to the best Christmas songs here. So how did Jingle Bells become one of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time? Here’s the full story. Not only that, but much of Jingle Bells’ history has been disputed, too, as two separate towns have claimed to be the birthplace of the song, which one historian has said was more or less cobbled together from ideas found in other popular tunes of the era. Take a look at its lyrics – you’ll see plenty of snow and wintry frivolity, but nothing specifically linking the song to the holiday season. It’s regarded as one of the best Christmas songs of all time, but Jingle Bells wasn’t actually written to be a Christmas song at all.
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