Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow

In a one horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bob tails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight

James Pierpont went to the home of Mrs. Otis Waterman, who owned the only piano in town, and he of course went there to play the carol. After he played the piece for her, Mrs. Waterman's reply was that it was a very merry little jingle, and he should have a lot of success with it.

The sheet music was first published in 1857 by Oliver Ditson with its original title, "The One Horse Open Sleigh." When the song was published again two years later, the only change was a new cover with the name the public had chosen for it, "Jingle Bells."



It was first written for a Thanksgiving program at his church in Boston. It was so well received that the children were asked to repeat it at Christmas. It has been a Christmas song ever since.


Obviously all of us have sung this since child hood. (I always thought the song was wrong, even I knew Bob didn't have two tails, I later learned bob tail was a horse's tail that had been cut short). If you stop and imagine the song, didn't you always think about the sleigh being pulled by horses? Can you hear the jingle of the bells with each trot of the horses?

In early times people didn't always have a team of horses AND a team of oxen. They "made do" as my grand parents used to say.

No oxen?

No horse?

No sleigh?

No sleigh robe?

Bet you have a bell to jingle

Jingle all the way.

e