"Jingle Bells"

No personal notes.

According to wikipedia;

"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont[1822-1893]. Despite being inextricably connected to Christmas, it is not specifically a Christmas song.

Notes to lyrics

a: The horse's name is not "Bobtail" or "Bob". The horse is described as "bobtail" or "bobtailed" which refers to the tail as being "bobbed": cut shorter or docked, which was commonly done to the tails of carriage horses to keep them neat and reduce the chance of the tail getting caught in the reins.
b: An archaic past participle of upset.
c: Two forty refers to a mile in two minutes and forty seconds at the trot, or 22.5 miles per hour. This is a good speed, and suggests the horse should be a Standardbred.

    Dashing through the snow
    In a one-horse open sleigh
    O'er the fields we go
    Laughing all the way
    Bells on bobtails ring [a]
    Making spirits bright
    What fun it is to laugh and sing
    A sleighing song tonight!

    (chorus)
    Jingle bells, jingle bells,
    Jingle all the way;
    Oh! what fun it is to ride
    In a one-horse open sleigh.
    Jingle bells, jingle bells,
    Jingle all the way;
    Oh! 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 then we got upsot. [b]
    |: 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 tonight
    and sing this sleighing song;
    Just get a bobtailed bay
    Two forty as his speed [c]
    Hitch him to an open sleigh
    And crack! you'll take the lead.
    |: chorus :|