Jingle Bells
James Lord Pierpont's sleigh-ride song, the first verse and the chorus as they were printed in 1909, for 2 to 4 singers: the soprano sings the tune, the alto sings the words mostly a sixth under it, the tenor fills in the chord, and the bass keeps the horse trotting with a "dm" on every other beat, then rings "jing" like the bells in the chorus. Bright and quick, with a breath at every line.
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The first verse
Words: James Lord Pierpont (1857)Tune: James Lord Pierpont (1857)
Dashing thro' the snow,In a onehorse open sleigh;O'er the fields we go,Laughing all the way;Bells on bobtail ringMaking spirits bright;What fun it is to ride and sing A sleighing song tonight!
About Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells was written by James Lord Pierpont and published in 1857 as The One Horse Open Sleigh: a song about a sleigh ride, with no word of Christmas, which became a Christmas song later. Our arrangement follows the verse and chorus as printed in Heart Songs of 1909, with today's chorus, which college songbooks printed from 1876, set by Stackapella on that page's harmony, in G. This is the first verse and the chorus for 2 to 4 singers, bright and quick: the tune on top, the alto mostly a sixth under it, the tenor filling the chord, and the bass trotting on "dm" in the verse and ringing "jing" in the chorus.
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