Jingle Bells
Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers Lyrics

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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!
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.

Overall Meaning

The song Jingle Bells is a classic holiday tune that is often associated with Christmas time. The song describes a fun and exciting sleigh ride through the snow with bells ringing, spirits bright, and laughter all around. The opening lines capture the excitement of the ride with the imagery of dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh. The verse goes on to describe the joyfulness of the ride with the ringing bells and the fun of singing along to a sleighing song.

The following verses tell the story of two separate incidents that happened while on a sleigh ride. In the first incident, the singer's horse gets stuck in a drifted bank, causing them to get upsot (upside-down). In the second incident, the singer falls on the snow and is laughed at by a passing gentleman in a one-horse open sleigh. The verses close with an invitation to enjoy the snowy weather by taking a ride in a one-horse open sleigh, with the suggestion to take a fast horse and take the lead.

Line by Line Meaning

Dashing through the snow
We are moving quickly through the snowy landscape

On a one-horse open sleigh,
Our mode of transport is a simple sleigh, being pulled by one horse

Over the fields we go,
We are traveling over open fields, enjoying the winter scenery

Laughing all the way;
We are having a great time and are cheerful

Bells on bob-tail ring,
The horse's tail is adorned with bells, creating a festive and lively atmosphere

Making spirits bright,
The sound of the bells and the happy mood of our ride bring joy to our hearts

What fun it is to ride and sing
We are enjoying ourselves by singing while we ride our sleigh

A sleighing song tonight
We are singing a song that is suitable for our sleigh ride in the night time

Jingle bells, jingle bells,
We hear jingling of the bells on the horse's tail

jingle all the way!
The bells create a joyful sound that accompanies our ride

O what fun it is to ride
We are having a great time on our sleigh ride

In a one-horse open sleigh
Our mode of transport is a simple sleigh being pulled by one horse

A day or two ago,
A few days ago from now, an incident happened that was worth mentioning

I thought I'd take a ride,
I decided to go on a ride

And soon Miss Fanny Bright
A woman named Fanny Bright joined me on the ride

Was seated by my side;
She was sitting next to me

The horse was lean and lank;
The horse pulling our sleigh was skinny and had a meager appearance

Misfortune seemed his lot;
The horse appeared unlucky, possibly due to its physical appearance

He got into a drifted bank,
The horse and our sleigh ended up in a bank of snow

And we, we got upsot.
We fell out of the sleigh, possibly due to the snow bank overturning the sleigh

Now the ground is white
The ground is covered in snow

Go it while you're young,
We should take advantage of our youthful energy and enjoy the winter activities

Take the girls tonight
We should invite female companions to join us on our sleigh ride

And sing this sleighing song;
We should sing this fun song that suits the occasion of our sleigh ride

Just get a bob-tailed bay
We should get a fast and strong type of horse, commonly called a 'bob-tailed bay'

Two-forty as his speed
This type of horse is capable of running at incredible speeds

Hitch him to an open sleigh
We should connect the horse to our sleigh

And crack! you'll take the lead.
With this new horse, we will be the fastest and lead the pack

Lyrics © Public Domain
Written by: James Lord Pierpont

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@markherron1407

23w↑2

Happy Birthday to Johnny Mercer REST IN POWER and Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 Blessings and Hugs 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

@andyhowlett2231

2y↑5

Johnny Mercer is one of my favourite singers from the 40's. He was a multi-talented gent who was known mainly for being a lyricist and a founder of Capitol, but he had a good, down to Earth singing style and blended really well with the Pipers. And just listen to Paul Weston's band!