In the 1944 movie, Meet me in St. Louis, actress Judy Garland introduced to the world a Christmas song that would go on to be covered by countless artists and played in households all over the world.
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas” was written by songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine. Martin played around with a melody and almost threw the song away when Blaine found it in the wastebasket.
Who would have thought?
Judy Garland asked for a revision as the first draft was too sad. The film producers also told Hugh Martin,
“No, no — it’s a sad scene, but we want sort of an upbeat song, which will make it even sadder if she’s smiling through her tears. Then we wrote the one you know in the movie.”
Why? The original words were, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas // It may be your last // Next year we may all be living in the past.” Martin needed a nudge to rewrite the song. Here is the movie version by Judy Garland.
From Judy’s 1944 to Carrie Underwood in 2020.
Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Underwood lights up homes with this rendition, showing us why she won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Carrie can hit and hold any note. All of them.
The sweet, melancholic melody of the song captures what the year was like.
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on
Our troubles will be out of sight”
Carrie sings with a mix of power and emotion,
“Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more”
Carrie’s versatile vocals allowed her to cover songs from different genres, garnering praises from fellow artists and critics but Underwood says she stays physically fit to be able to sustain her performances.
The singer and her band all wear black, allowing the decorated trees to light up the stage. They seem even more vibrant with Carrie’s voice as she displays her incredible range, hitting note after note going from low to high and back.
A fan named Javid commented,
“The perfect singer for a Christmas album. That voice!!!!!!! Love Carrie Underwood. God bless her.”
That voice indeed.
This song is part of her seventh studio album, My Gift, which features Christmas songs. John Legend sings with Carrie for “Hallelujah“, while Carrie’s son Isaiah joins in for “The little drummer boy“. It’s good stuff.
Count yourself blessed to be alive and healthy this Christmas. Be grateful that you have family and friends around you as you open presents and share stories over sumptuous meals and drinks. Not everyone can celebrate a merry one this year.
Sing along with Carrie. Let’s all hope and pray that we have many more Christmases to celebrate together.
Watch in awe of Carrie’s soul stirring cover of this classic in the video below!
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