Welcome back to Country Music 4 Ever! Today, I’m going to continue my Christmas history series with a relatively modern Christmas classic, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine in 1943 for Judy Garland to sing in the movie “Meet Me in St. Louis,” which would be released the following year.

Hugh explained in an interview that the song began with a melody that he couldn’t make work as a song. He played around with it for a few days, then threw it in the trash. Ralph heard the tune Hugh was working on and thought it was too good to throw away, so they dug it out of the trash can and began working on lyrics.

The original lyrics were considered “too sad” by the movie producers. They explained, “It’s a sad scene, but we want sort of an upbeat song, which will make it even sadder if she’s (Judy Garland) smiling through her tears.”

Hugh and Ralph then rewrote the song with the lyrics we know and love today.

This song has been recorded by hundreds of artists, including country stars such as Kelsea Ballerini, Vince Gill, Thomas Rhett, and many others.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back soon!