It is endlessly bothersome to me, whenever Christmas rolls around, to hear winter songs treated as Christmas carols. The most flagrant and common misattribution is, of course, "Jingle Bells". There are no intimations of yuletide, no allusions to noelery, at all in this song; rather, it's about boys and girls, having a bit of fun together by going for a ride through the snow. The jingling we hear in the song comes from the horses' bells, not from Santa's sleigh.

Jingle bells
Written by James Lord Pierpont, 1857.

Dashing through the snow
On a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring,
making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
jingle all the way!
O 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 we, we got upsot.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.

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.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.

Now the ground is white
Go it while you're young,
Take the girls tonight
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob-tailed bay
two-forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack! you'll take the lead.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.

Here is another great winter-not-Christmas song about going out for a sleigh ride in the now.

Sleigh ride
Composed by Leroy Anderson, 1948.
Lyrics by Mitchell Parish, 1950.

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 yap, giddy yap, giddy yap,
let's go, Let's look at the show,
We're riding in a wonderland of snow.
Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap,
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 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 chocolate
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.

Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap,
let's go, Let's look at the show,
We're riding in a wonderland of snow.
Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap,
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.

The title of this next song could not be any clearer: it is about winter, and nothing else. It is also one of my favourites.

Winter Wonderland
Music by Felix Bernard, and lyrics by Richard B. Smith, 1934.

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
in the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
we're happy tonight,
walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird,
here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song,
as we go along,
walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say: Are you married?
we'll say: No man,
But you can do the job
when you're in town.

Later on, we'll conspire,
as we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
the plans that we've made,
walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
and pretend that he's a circus clown
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,
until the other kids knock him down.

When it snows, ain't it thrilling,
Though your nose gets a chilling
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,
walking in a winter wonderland.

Walking in a winter wonderland,
walking in a winter wonderland.

I remember the following song from the album Snoopy's Christmas". Ah, how the memory takes me back to my childhood... Yet, even when I was 10 years old, I knew that this was a winter song, the name of the album notwithstanding.

Marshmallow World
Lyrics by Carl Sigman, and music by Peter DeRose, 1945.

Ahhhh, it's a marshmallow world in the winter,
When the snow comes to cover the ground.
It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day,
I wait for it the whole year round!

Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly,
In the arms of the evergreen trees;
And the sun is red like a pumpkin head,
It's shining so your nose won't freeze!

The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes, whenever it snows.
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along!

It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts,
Take a walk with your favorite girl.
It's a sugar date, so what if spring is late,
In winter it's a marshmallow world!

It's a marshmallow day in the winter,
When the snow comes to cover the ground.
It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day,
And we wait for it the whole year round!

Just you remember that,

Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly,
In the arms of the evergreen trees;
And the sun is red like a pumpkin head,
It's shining so your nose won't freeze!

You must remember that,

The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes whenever it snows.
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along!

It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts,
Take a walk with your favorite girl.
It's a sugary date, so what if spring is late,
In winter it's a marshmallow world...
In winter it's a marshmallow world...
In winter it's a marshmallow world...

Another song about winter activities--namely, building a snowman--is "Frosty the snowman". The twist is that, just as in a fairy tale, the snowman comes to life for a day. But this twist has nothing to do with Christmas.

Frosty the snowman
Written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson.
First recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys, 1950.

Frosty the snowman
Was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe
And a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.

Frosty the snowman
Is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow
But the children know
How he came to life one day.

There must have been some magic
In that old silk hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around.

O, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be,
And the children say
He could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me.

Thumpety thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Frosty the snowman
Knew the sun was hot that day,
So he said, "Let's run
And we'll have some fun
Now before I melt away."

Down to the village,
With a broomstick in his hand,
Running here and there
All around the square
Saying, Catch me if you can.

He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop.
And he only paused a moment when
He heard him holler "Stop!"

For Frosty the snow man
Had to hurry on his way,
But he waved goodbye
Saying, "Don't you cry,
I'll be back again some day."

Thumpety thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpety thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

The above songs all delighted in winter as it is: a season of cold, snow, and ice. By contrast, the song "Let it snow" calls winter weather "frightful", and uses it as an excuse for staying indoors.

Let it snow!
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and music by Jule Styne, 1945.
First recorded by Vaughn Monroe, 1945.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

It doesn't show signs of stopping,
And I brought some corn for popping;
The lights are turned way down low,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

When we finally say good night,
How I'll hate going out in the storm;
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.

The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bye-ing,
But as long as you love me so.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Bedtime songs are for older children, and I distinguish them from lullabies, or cradle songs, which I consider to be exclusively for babies.

One of the nicest bedtime songs I know is "Morningtown ride".^1,2

Morningtown ride
Written and composed by Malvina Reynolds, 1957.

Train whistle blowin', makes a sleepy noise,
Underneath their blankets go all the girls and boys.
Rockin', rollin', ridin', out along the bay,
All bound for Morningtown, many miles away.

Driver at the engine, Fireman rings the bell,
Sandman swings the lantern to say that all is well.
Rockin', rollin', ridin', out along the bay,
All bound for Morningtown, many miles away.

Maybe it is raining where our train will ride;
All the little travelers are warm and snug inside.
Rockin', rollin', ridin', out along the bay,
All bound for Morningtown, many miles away.

Somewhere there is sunshine, somewhere there is day,
Somewhere there is Morningtown, many miles away.
Rockin', rollin', ridin', out along the bay,
All bound for Morningtown, many miles away.

All bound for Morningtown, many miles away.

Notes

1, This song has been performed by several singers and bands:

• The Limeliters, 1962.


• The Seekers, 1966.
  This performance reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart.


• The Irish Rovers, 1972.


• Bob McGrath, on Sesame Street, 1973.
  This is where I first heard the song, on the vinyl recording Bert & Ernie Sing-a-long (Children's Records of America, 1975), in which hapless Bert, singing alone in the bathtub, is joined by Ernie, a grand piano, and eventually the whole Sesame Street gang. Great fun. Great memories. The lyrics in the Sesame Street version differ from the original in the second stanza:

  Cookie's at the engine, Maria rings the bell,
  Big Bird swings the lantern to show that all is well.



• Raffi, 1980.


• Jheena Lodwick, 2004.

2, This song is often mistakenly thought to be about a train trip from Melbourne to the nearby beachside town of Mornington. However, Morningtown is a clearly a metaphorical place, just like the land of Nod is. The fact that the Seekers, who hail mostly from Melbourne, took this song to the top of the pop charts is irrelevant, because they simply performed the song. The person who wrote it, Malvina Reynolds, hails from California.