News from Italy
Jingle Bells: One song two cities
by Ayfer Selamoğlu
The most beautiful time of the year has come. The trees and decorations we installed in the city squares and our houses opened the doors of a fairy-tale world. Jingle Bells, which evoke the classic image of a sleigh gliding with deer in the winter landscape, Santa Claus, peace and joy, also started to be heard increasing in tone. Probably, each of us has at least once accompanied this cheerful, catchy tune that we hear at home, in shops, restaurants and bars.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh
So, is Jingle Bells a Christmas Carol that cannot be shared between the two cities?
Jingle Bells is one of the world’s best-known, most loved, universal Christmas carols; everyone has sung it at least once. But what is this song about? What is its story? Jingle Bells is not a Christmas song. Moreover, it is a precious legacy that cannot be shared between the two cities of America…
This article confronts one of the most popular Christmas carols of all time: “The Jingle Bell or Open Sleigh.” Where was it first written?” The answer depends on where we ask because Medford-Massachusetts and Savannah-Georgia claim to be the song’s city of origin. The North-South conflict over this song continues to this day.
But let’s focus on the author’s story first!
The song’s author, James Lord Pierpont, wasn’t a composer. He was born in Boston in 1822, the son of well-known author and pastor John Pierpont. His father was an abolitionist clergyman. James Lord Pierpont pursued adventures away from his family in Boston from an early age. He escaped boarding school at age 14 and joined the crew of a whaling ship. He spent about ten years at sea. He was among the fortune hunters who made their way to California in 1849 with the gold rush. He left his wife and children behind in Medford, Massachusetts, while chasing riches in the West. He returned a few years later without realising his dream of becoming rich. In 1853, he set out for Savannah, Georgia. This time, he was leaving his family to become an organist at a church where his brother was the pastor. He earned his living by composing songs. In 1856, a few months after the death of his first wife, he married the daughter of the mayor of Savannah. And again, he left his two children from his first marriage with his father in the North…
To some, Pierpont was a rebellious, adventurous traveller. Some didn’t like it at all. To some, he was a loser. But he is nonetheless a beloved, unshared son among the residents of Medford and Savannah. Because he left his name in history and the most loved Christmas song of all time, his name is on a plaque at 19 High St: “On this site was the Simpson Tavern. ‘Jingle Bells’ was composed here. In 1850, James Pierpont wrote the song ‘Jingle Bells’ here in the presence of Mrs. Otis Waterman.” But then a development brought the two cities against each other. Simpson had moved to Savannah, where his brother lived. This song, played on a school Thanksgiving day, was viral. For this reason, it was also beginning to be used in New Year celebrations. Pierpont copyrighted the song in Savannah and officially released it under ‘One’. The lyrics to the song, which describes the northern sleigh rides and races, were later changed to “Jingle Bells”, but it did not gain popularity until 1859 after the words were reversed (from “Bells” to “Horse Open Sleigh”). It became one of the most famous Christmas carols at that time. Medford wrote the song, but it was officially released in Savannah… So who’s right? No right! There is no victory lap in Sleigh… There is only one song, plaques in two separate cities that embrace the composer, and two cities clinging to their bells…
Of course, these discussions don’t affect the magic of the holiday-invoking song “Jingle Bells” with its catchy melody and the classic image of a sleigh gliding through a winter landscape. So, what does this classic Christmas holiday song tell us? “Jingle Bells” is about joyful sledge races, sleigh rides and part of the lifestyle of that era.
Towards the second half of the 18OOs, sledges replaced cars on the snow-covered streets. Americans were very fond of sledging. They used to sleigh and return to neighbouring villages to dance among the white snow. The couples enjoyed the flavour of the sledges, which they filled with cloaks, shawls, woollen clothes, sighs, smiles, laughter, conversations and stolen kisses. Boston was one of many cities to use sledges as a winter transport. In New York, sledging was fashionable on Broadway and in Central Park, which had just opened in 1857. For some, it was a courtship ritual. With its tinkling bells, sledging was a popular activity for travel, entertainment, and displaying wealth.
The song is about people having fun at the winter sledge races on the Mystic River in Medford, Massachusetts. Located just north of Boston, this town was famous for its rum production. During the sledge races, taverns were overflowing. During this pleasant period, rum was drunk while racing in the snow. That’s why Jingle Bells was a song about sleigh rides, drinking, and talking with friends and lovers. Lesser-known lines of the song describe picking up girls, sledging in the snow, and a high-speed accident. But the song’s first verse continued circulating for centuries, while the others were forgotten. Composition by James L. Pierpont, Louis Armstrong to Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti to Andrea Bocelli, and Nini Rosso to others. Sung by the artist… The Jingle Bells travelling worldwide could not get their speed; they reached space on December 15, 1965. American astronaut Wally Schirra used Jingle Bells to express travel by spacecraft. And L. Pierpont, on the other hand, was turning into a person and a winner who couldn’t be shared with the favourite Christmas carol of all time…
Dashing through the snow
in a one-horse open sleigh,
over the fields we go, laughing all the way.
Bells on bobtail ring, making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
O, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
O, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
A day or two ago, I thought I’d take a ride,
and soon, Miss Fannie Bright was seated by my side.
The horse was lean and lank, misfortune seemed his lot,
he got into a drifted bank, and we got upsot.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
O, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
O, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Now the ground is white, go it while you’re young,
Take the girls tonight and sing this sleighing song.
Just get a bobtailed bay, two-forty for his speed,
Then hitch him to an open sleigh and crack! You’ll take the lead.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
O, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
O, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh