Thursday, December 11, 2008

Dec 11 Jingle Bells

Dec 11 Jingle Bells
http://musiced.about.com/od/christmasnewyeararticles/qt/jinglebells.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Pierpont_(musician) http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Biographies/james_lord_pierpont.htm

Dashing thro' the snow,
In a one horse open sleigh,
O'er the hills we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob tail ring,
Making spirits bright,
Oh what sport to ride and sing
A sleighing song to night.
Chorus:
Jingle bells, Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.
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 tho't I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fannie Bright
Was seated by my side,
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seem'd his lot
He got into a drifted bank
And we - we got up sot. 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 to night
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

James Pierpont was born in Boston, and attended boarding school in New Hampshire. While away at school, he wrote a letter to his mother which he mentioned riding in a sleigh through the December snow. Four years after that, in 1836, 14-year-old James ran away to sea aboard a ship called "the Shark". Some sources indicate that the ship sailed as far as California.

As an adult, James followed his minister brother to Savannah, Georgia, and served as an organist and music director at the church his brother pastored. He also gave organ and singing lessons. James’ first songs were published in Boston. He wrote and published a number of ballads, polkas, and minstrel songs, some of which were recorded by singers of the day. He also wrote several Confederacy songs.

In August 1857, his song "One Horse Open Sleigh" was published. Two years later it was re-released with the title "Jingle Bells, or The One Horse Open Sleigh". It was not a hit either time.
Both Massachusetts and Georgia claim ownership of "Jingle Bells." There are many stories circulating about its origin. Here are several:

Massachusetts: One day in 1851, James Pierpont went to the home of Mrs. Otis Waterman, where he played one of his compositions for her on her piano. Mrs. Waterman commented that it was a very merry little jingle, and he should have a lot of success with it. Pierpont then wrote the lyrics about the one-horse open sleighs — also known as "cutters" — that young men raced on the one mile route from Medford to Malden Squares.

Georgia: Savannah musical researcher, Milton Rahn, felt that 'Jingle Bells' was most likely written in Savannah, in a house located near Oglethorpe and Whitaker Streets, which has since been torn down. It has been speculated that the song was composed by Pierpont, probably at a time when homesick, as he recalled his youthful days in New England.

Another popular story gives authorship (either in Boston or in Savannah) for a Thanksgiving church service. The song was so well received that the children were asked to repeat the performance at the Christmas service and it has remained a Christmas standard ever since.
Note that in 1857, Pierpont was in Savannah, not Boston, so it is more likely that he wrote the song there.

Some have expressed doubt that the song could be written for a children’s church choir. References to courting would not have been appropriate in a religious song. Instead, it was just a "sleighing song" – fast sleighs and pretty girls. Some things never change.

Some Jingle Bells Trivia: In Ontario, Canada, sleigh bells are required by law, and persons breaking the law are subject to a $5 fine. The law states: "Every person travelling on a highway with a sleigh or sled drawn by a horse or other animal shall have at least two bells attached to the harness or to the sleigh or sled in such a manner as to give an ample warning sound". Horses' hooves on newly fallen snow are very quiet, and the sleigh runners make almost no noise.

“Jingle Bells” From Gemini 6 Ten days before Christmas, Dec. 15, 1965, NASA celebrated as spaceships Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 successfully completed a non-docking orbital rendezvous, an historic first. The next morning, as Gemini 6 was preparing to re-enter Earth's atmosphere, Mission Control in Houston heard a cryptic message from astronaut Thomas P. Stafford:
"We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit.... Looks like he might be going to re-enter soon.... You just might let me pick up that thing.... I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit."

Stafford later related that "I could hear the voices at Mission Control getting tense when I talked about sighting something else up there with us.”

But moments later, ground controllers heard the strains of “Jingle Bells,” played on a miniature harmonica and accompanied by five miniature sleigh bells.

“Then, after we finished the song,” Stafford continued, “[Mission Control's] Elliot relaxed and just said, 'You're too much.'"

The plot had been hatched in the weeks before the mission by astronaut Walter M. "Wally" Schirra Jr., according to Stafford. "He could play the harmonica, and we practiced two or three times before we took off, but of course we didn't tell the guys on the ground....We never considered singing, since I couldn't carry a tune in a bushel basket."

The harmonica was Hohner's tiny four-hole, eight-note “Little Lady.” The accompaniment was five small bells, tied on a blue string. The harmonica and bells were the first musical instruments ever played in space. The items were donated to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum by Schirra and Stafford in 1967. Before he donated it to the Smithsonian, Schirra reported that he had "retested the harmonica and it performs quite well."

Craft: bells, sleigh
http://www.yamahamotor.co.jp/global/entertainment/papercraft/seasons/10/index.html
http://www.origami-club.com/en/ Christmas>Bell

1 comment:

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