This songs, which is also known as One Horse Open Sleigh, was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893) and was copyrighted under the name One Horse Open Sleigh in 1857. At the time the song was written, Pierpont was playing the organ in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
Jingle Bells was the first song to be broadcast from space in a Christmas prank in 1965 by Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra, astronauts on Gemini 6.
Apparently horses drawing sleighs had bells on so that people could hear them coming, as the snow muffled the sound of the horses' hooves. [from: http://365jourspourapprendre.fr/jingle-bells/]
Here is the original version:
Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bob tail ring (or Hear our voices ring)
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing (or What fun it is to ride and sing)
A sleighing song tonight
Chorus
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy 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 then we got upsot.
Chorus
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.
Chorus
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.
Chorus
Arabic, Chinese (Hakka), Chinese (Mandarin), English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Slovak, Spanish
Background information about Jingle Bells
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells
Other versions of Jingle Bells
http://www.christmas-carols.net/carols/jingle-bells.html
http://www.carols.org.uk/jingle_bells.htm
http://www.know-britain.com/carols/jingle_bells.html
Recordings of Jingle Bells in English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUPEOqmIBUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMnTRx_vPGI
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