As recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra
on
October 20th 1941 with Tex Beneke, Ernie Caceres and the Modernaires.
Written by J.S. Pierpont in 1857, adapted by
Hal
Dickenson and Bill Conway.
TB+MOD:
Dashin‘ through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughin‘ all the way
Bells on bobtails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride
And sing a sleighin‘ song tonight...:
Jinlge bells, jingle bells, jingle all the
way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse
open
sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells, I don’t mind the
storm
Bring your coats and hats
You lukewarm cats*
I‘ve got my horn to keep me warm...
EC+MOD:
Down in Mexico
We have got no snow
You have got no snow?
Down in Mexico!
Sit around all day
Hear the music play
Ev’rytime we sing
Tequila glasses ring
Jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle...
(*: Swing aficionados)
(Note: Miller expert Randall Anthony clarified a little controversy about one version of that
song with and one without the "Mexico" part. Here's his enlightening letter:
Dear Al,
The version of "Jingle Bells" with the verse about Mexico (sung by Ernie
Caceres) is from the original, unedited session. At some point, someone
came along and excised the entire verse, reducing the length of the track by
about 22 seconds. This is the version more widely compiled, including
on "The Most Fabulous Christmas Album Ever!" - Amazon had the artist
wrong.
For the edited version, RCA juiced up the master tape, too, making it sound
much brighter and present - which is why I thought at first it was a
different session.
Anyway, there you go - more than you ever wanted to know about Glenn
Miller's "Jingle Bells." Glad I could solve the mystery.
Sincerely, R.A).
As recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra
on
July 15th 1942 with Marion Hutton and the Modernaires.
Words by Albert Stillman, music by Paul
McGrane.
(From the musical production „Stars On Ice“)
Moppin‘ up sodapop rickeys
To our heart’s delight
Dancin‘ to swingeroo quickies
Jukebox saturday night
Goodman and Kyser and Miller*
Help to make things bright
Mixin‘ hot licks with vanilla
Jukebox saturday night
They put nothin‘ past us
Me and honey lamb
Making one Coke last us
Till it’s time to scram
Money we really don’t need bad,
We make out alright
Lettin‘ the other guy feed that
Jukebox saturday night
After sippin‘ a soda we got a scheme
Somebody else plays the record machine
It’s so easy to say pet names
When you listen to the trumpet of Harry
James...
We love to hear that tenor croon
Whenever the Ink Spots sing a tune...
(„The Ink Spots“):
If I didn’t know why the roses grow
Then I wouldn’t know why the roses grow...
(Spoken) Now listen, honey child,
If I didn’t know all them little things I’m
supposed
to know
Then I sure would be a SAD man
If I didn’t know... **
Money we really don’t need it,
We‘ll make out alright
Lettin‘ the other guy feed that
Jukebox saturday night!
(*: Kay Kyser, Benny Goodman and -
well... These orchestras were the absolute stars of the Swing
era, Kyser making even
more money than Glenn! Don't ask me how he did that - Miller constantly
broke
house attendance records wherever they played, he signed unprecedented
record
contracts, sales figures reached then-uncharted heights, but still,
Kyser
(anybody know this guy today?) apparently made over a million
dollars,
while Miller stayed at appr. 700 000 $ (but they were good friends
nevertheless!))
(**: This passage is a parody of the Ink
Spots'
song "If I didn't care", which, by the way, can be found on the
soundtrack
to "The Shawshank Redemption".)