24. JINGLE BELLS by Maddox Brothers and Rose
Rose Maddox - vocal, Cal Maddox - harmony vocal and guitar, Fred Maddox - harmony vocal and bass, Henry Maddox - electric mandolin, Don Maddox - fiddle, possibly Roy Nichols - electric guitar, with harmonica and sleigh bells. Los Angeles, ca. 1951.

Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way
Bells on bob tails ring, making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing this joyous song tonight

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh, hey!
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
We got into a drifted bank and we, we got upsot

The Maddox sister and brothers weren't called "The Most Colorful Hillbilly Band in America" as an idle boast. Their interpretation of an old seasonal favorite is one of the liveliest you'll hear. It came from the pen of a Boston Unitarian church organist, James Pierpont, who tossed it off in 1857 for a Thanksgiving program. Children loved its chorus and the song soon took on a life of its own.

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