The Christmas tune  Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas was written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis(1944). It became a hit for Garland and other artists would sing it as well as part of their Christmas music. The most famous adaptation is by Frank Sinatra, whose version is the one most commonly heard.

The song has been on lists of favorite movie songs for years and, of course, is a favorite during the Christmas season.  The movie itself is about a family that has to move to New York City and leave St. Louis. The song is heard during a scene where Judy Garland’s character sings it to her despondent sister about the move. The original song is more sad than the revised version. And apparently some of the original lyrics were dropped as they were too depressing.

The song performed by Judy Garland became popular to American troops and, according to accounts, brought them to tears. Frank Sinatra asked in 1957 that the tune be made more jolly.  He had performed the song before but thought it should be rewritten to make it more upbeat for his new Christmas album. Hugh Martin adjusted the lyrics and Sinatra’s performance is highly rated as well. Here are both the original version and the one sung by Frank Sinatra.