Gleason could not read or write music in a conventional sense; he was said to have conceived melodies in his head and described them vocally to staff help. He did likewise with the well-remembered themes of both The Jackie Gleason Show ("Melancholy Serenade") and The Honeymooners ("You're My Greatest Love"). There has been some controversy over the years as to how much credit Gleason should have received for the finished products; it has been written that beyond the possible conceptualizing of many of the songs, Gleason had no direct involvement such as conducting in the making of these recordings. However, his main musical companion, cornetist and trumpeter Bobby Hackett once said: "Jackie knows a lot more about music than people give him credit for. I have seen him conduct a sixty-piece orchestra and detect one discordant note in the brass section. He would immediately stop the music and locate the wrong note. It always amazed the professional musicians how a guy who technically did not know one note from another could do that. And he was never wrong."
Born February 26, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He died on June 24, 1987
Jingle Bells
Jackie Gleason Lyrics
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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!
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 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!
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!
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!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
"Jingle Bells" is a classic Christmas song that describes the joys of riding on a sleigh through the snow. The song begins with the singer dashing through the snowy fields on a one-horse open sleigh. They are ringing the bells on the sled which makes their spirits bright and they are singing a sleighing song tonight. The chorus repeats the famous jingle of the bells, showing the excitement and joy of the ride.
In the second verse, the song narrates a mishap the singer and his companion, Miss Fanny Bright, had on their ride. The horse was lean and unlucky as they got stuck in a snowdrift, overturning the sleigh. The third verse narrates another comic incident where the singer fell on his back while walking in the snow, and a man riding by in an open sleigh laughed at him and drove away.
The song then concludes with a call to the listeners to embrace the magic of the snowy season by gathering the girls and heading out to ride. The song suggests to get a strong horse and hitch it to a one-horse open sleigh and taking the lead. The jingle bells, the rhythm of the song, and the contagious energy of the singer are three factors that make Jingle Bells an instant classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Dashing through the snow
We are moving quickly through the snow
On a one-horse open sleigh,
We are riding on a single horse-drawn sleigh that has no roof
Over the fields we go,
We are traveling across the open countryside
Laughing all the way,
We are enjoying ourselves and having a good time
Bells on bob-tail ring,
The bells on the tail of the horse are making a ringing sound
Making spirits bright,
The ringing of the bells is brightening our moods
What fun it is to ride and sing
We are having fun riding the sleigh and singing together
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
The bells on the sleigh are making a jingling sound
Jingle all the way!
We can hear the jingling sound everywhere we go
O what fun it is to ride
We are having a lot of fun riding the sleigh
In a one-horse open sleigh
We are riding in a single horse-drawn sleigh that has no roof
A day or two ago,
This happened a day or two before present time
I thought I'd take a ride,
I decided to go for a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
A woman named Fanny Bright joined me
Was seated by my side,
Fanny Bright was sitting next to me
The horse was lean and lank,
The horse was skinny and not in good condition
Misfortune seemed his lot,
The horse seemed to be having bad luck
He got into a drifted bank,
The horse ran into a snowdrift
And we, we got upsot.
We got tipped over and fell out of the sleigh
Now the ground is white
The ground is covered in snow
Go it while you're young,
Take advantage of your youth while you can
Take the girls tonight
Bring the girls with you tonight
And sing this sleighing song,
Sing this song while riding in the sleigh
Just get a bob-tailed bay
Get a horse with a short tail
Two-forty as his speed
The horse should be able to run a mile in 2 minutes and 40 seconds
Hitch him to an open sleigh
Attach the horse to a single horse-drawn sleigh that has no roof
And crack! you'll take the lead.
The horse will run fast, and you will be in first place
Lyrics © DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHUCK HOWARD, EDDY ARNOLD, JAMES PIERPONT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind