‘Sleigh Ride’: An Accidental Classic Christmas Song

Bet You Know This One!
If you live in the West and in a good number of countries otherwise around the world, chances are very high that you’ll recognize this first stanza of the iconic American Christmas song called ‘Sleigh Ride’ composed by Leroy Anderson with lyrics written by Mitchell Parish:

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
ring ting tingling too…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
Outside the snow is falling
and friends are calling “yoo hoo”…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.

We’re Having A Heat Wave
It was actually during a heat wave in July 1946 that Leroy Anderson thought of composing the music for this song.

His idea was to create a light orchestral piece, and it wasn’t until the winter of 1948 that he finished his composition. A year later its first performance took place, played by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the baton of Arthur Fiedler.

‘Sleigh Ride’ Gets Famous
It was the era of 45 rpm and 78 rpm vinyl records, and the song became a hit record for the RCA Victor Red Seal and grew to become the Boston Pops Orchestra’s signature song.

Spicing It Up
A year after the piece was first performed, Mitchell Parish wrote his lyrics for the song, which were about a person wanting to go for a sleigh ride with someone on a winter’s day.

Pass The Pumpkin Pie (And Not The Christmas Turkey)
Although ‘Sleigh Ride’ is generally played most around Christmas and often appears on Christmas compilation albums, the lyrics never specifically mention Christmas or any religious observance.

In fact, the pumpkin pie talked about in the fifth stanza of the song is suggestive of Thanksgiving more than of Christmas.

An Accidental Christmas Classic
Whether or not its composer and lyricist intended it as a Christmas song, “Sleigh Ride” is consistently ranked in the top 10 list of most performed songs during the Christmas season around the world according to the review of Christmas music issued by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

How ‘Sleigh Ride’ Ranks in The History of Western Music
And according to the author Steve Metcalf who wrote the book entitled Leroy Anderson: A Bio-Bibliography published by Praeger in 2004, “Sleigh Ride … has been performed and recorded by a wider array of musical artists than any other piece in the history of Western music.”

Now What Was That Line??
Just in case you can’t recall all the lyrics of this wonderfully festive song (including that bit about the pumpkin pie mentioned earlier), here they are:

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
ring ting tingling too…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
Outside the snow is falling
and friends are calling “yoo hoo”…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
let’s go… Let’s look at the show…
We’re riding in a wonderland of snow.
Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
it’s grand… Just holding your hand…
We’re gliding along with a song
of a wintry fairy land.

Our cheeks are nice and rosy
and comfy cozy are we…
We’re snuggled up together
like two birds of a feather would be…
Let’s take that road before us
and sing a chorus or two…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.

There’s a birthday party
at the home of Farmer Gray…
It’ll be the perfect ending a of perfect day.
We’ll be singing the songs
we love to sing without a single stop…
At the fireplace while we watch
the chestnuts pop… Pop! pop! pop!

There’s a happy feeling
nothing in the world can buy…
When they pass around the coffee
and the pumpkin pie.
It’ll nearly be like a picture print
by Currier and Ives…
These wonderful things are the things
we remember all through our lives!

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
ring ting tingling too…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
Outside the snow is falling
and friends are calling “yoo hoo”…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.

It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you…
It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

Sleigh Ride – music by Leroy Anderson, lyrics by Mitchell Parish

References:

Websites
Wikipedia
International Lyrics Playground

More Quillcards Christmas Ecards

Other articles of ours that you might like to read:

1. Let It Snow! – Ten Questions & Answers About Snow
2. Quillcards Festive and Seasonal Ecards

Tagged as: Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish, Sleigh Ride