{"id":3597,"date":"2010-11-25T06:45:35","date_gmt":"2010-11-25T14:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=3597"},"modified":"2013-12-02T17:53:46","modified_gmt":"2013-12-03T01:53:46","slug":"the-song-jingle-bells-is-thought-to-have-been-written-for-a-thanksgiving-sunday-school-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/11\/the-song-jingle-bells-is-thought-to-have-been-written-for-a-thanksgiving-sunday-school-program\/","title":{"rendered":"The Song \u201cJingle Bells\u201d Is Thought to Have Been Written for a Thanksgiving Sunday School Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"One<\/a>Today I found out<\/a> the song Jingle Bells<\/em> is thought to have been written for a Thanksgiving Sunday school program.<\/p>\n

Jingle Bells<\/em> was originally called One Horse Open Sleigh<\/em> and was written by James Pierpont sometime between 1853 and 1857. At the time, Pierpont was working as an organist and music director in Savannah, Georgia.\u00a0 Pierpont was hired on by his brother, John Pierpont Jr. who was the Reverend there, after James’ business in San Francisco burned down.\u00a0 It was here that he composed One Horse Open Sleigh<\/em>, reportedly for a Thanksgiving program.<\/p>\n

He later publicly released the song through Ditson and Co. of Boston in 1857, but it wasn’t terribly popular.\u00a0 Pierpont tried again to release it in 1859 under the new title Jingle Bells<\/em>, with it once again flopping. However, from there, it did slowly gain in popularity and became associated with Christmas, rather than just as a general sleigh-song, which were a popular type of song at the time among teenagers (think “fast cars \/ pretty girls” songs).\u00a0 By 1890, three years before Pierpont’s death, the song had become a huge Christmas hit and from 1890 to 1954 it managed to maintain a spot on the top 25 most recorded songs in the world.<\/p>\n

While most people are very familiar with the first verses of Jingle Bells<\/em> directly before the chorus, there are actually three more verses to the song:<\/p>\n

A day or two ago
\nI thought I’d take a ride
\nAnd soon, Miss Fanny Bright
\nWas seated by my side,
\nThe horse was lean and lank
\nMisfortune seemed his lot
\nHe got into a drifted bank
\nAnd then we got upsot.
\n(chorus)<\/div>\n
A day or two ago,
\nThe story I must tell
\nI went out on the snow,
\nAnd on my back I fell;
\nA gent was riding by
\nIn a one-horse open sleigh,
\nHe laughed as there I sprawling lie,
\nBut quickly drove away.
\n(chorus)<\/div>\n
Now the ground is white
\nGo it while you’re young,
\nTake the girls tonight
\nand sing this sleighing song;
\nJust get a bobtailed bay
\nTwo forty as his speed
\nHitch him to an open sleigh
\nAnd crack! you’ll take the lead.
\n(chorus)<\/div>\n

Bonus<\/span> Facts:<\/p>\n