Jingle Bells
by James Lord Pierpont

Dashing through the snow
On a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring,
making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight.

Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
Oh, 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 Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank;
Misfortune seemed his lot;
He got into a drifted bank,
And we, we got upsot.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.

A day or two ago,
the story I must tell
I went out on the snow
And on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh,
He laughed as there
I sprawling lie,
But quickly drove away.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
Oh, 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 bob-tailed bay
two-forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack! You'll take the lead.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh

Documentation

When Jingle Bells was written in the 1850s,  it was not a Christmas song. It had nothing to do with the holidays.

``Jingle Bells'' was what you might call pre-Civil War rock 'n' roll. In its seldom-heard original form, it's about having a flashy vehicle, driving it too fast and using it to pick up girls.

``Jingle Bells'' was inspired by the annual sleigh races between Medford Square and Malden Square, and it was written by a rebellious musician with a bad reputation.

 In 1857, Jingle Bells was  published by Oliver Ditson & Co. in Boston, Pierpont was living in Savannah, Ga. In 1988, Savannah took that fact and ran with it. It anointed itself ``the `Jingle Bells' city of America'' 

By that time, James had already left home at least once; at 14, he ran away to sea on a ship named ``The Shark'' and sailed as far as California. In Troy, he married Millicent Cowee. When his father took charge of the First Parish Church in Medford, in 1849, James, his wife and their two children came, too. The current pastor, Hank Pierce, is full of information about the Pierponts and is happy to show off an impressive plaque of John (``Poet - Minister - Reformer'') currently stored in the church attic.

In 1857  ``One Horse Open Sleigh'' was published. Two years later it was republished with a snappier title, ``Jingle Bells.'' It wasn't a hit.

For many years, the author of ``Jingle Bells'' was listed as ``Anonymous.'' 

Rumor has it that Rick Springfield  performed a rockin version of this song around the Holidays at EFX.

Australian version of Jingle Bells