Does everyone know this early draft of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas?"
From wikipedia:
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
It may be your last
Next year we may all be living in the past
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Pop that champagne cork
Next year we may all be living in New York.
No good times like the olden days,
Happy golden days of yore,
Faithful friends who were dear to us
Will be near to us no more.
But at least we all will be together
If the Lord allows.
From now on we'll have to muddle through somehow.
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
Judy Garland felt some of the lyrics were too negative for a Christmas song and requested a rewrite but Hugh Martin initially refused and withdrew the song. Martin credits Meet Me in St. Louis actor Tom Drake for persuading him that Garland was right and it was a great song but needed another draft.
Later recorded versions combine lyrics from previous versions in accordance to the artist(s)' preference.
A news release regarding NewSong's release of their 2001 Christmas album The Christmas Shoes noted a 1990 incident with youth pastor Michael O'Brien's visit to composer Hugh Martin. Martin admitted to O'Brien the original version had "Lord allows" instead of "fates allow", and the lyrics were changed to remove religious references. O'Brien, who later joined NewSong, had the group record the song with Martin's lyric.
