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| Leroy Anderson - Sleigh Ride |
Leroy Anderson - Sleigh Ride Lyrics and Youtube Music VideosAlbum:
Greatest Hits Released:
1948 Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing, ring-ting tingle-ing, 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 wintery 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.
Writer/s: LEROY ANDERSON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by
LyricFindSleigh Ride Leroy Anderson wrote the music for this song during a heatwave in July of 1946, at his summer home in Woodbury, Connecticut where he was vacationing with his family. Anderson was an orchestral composer who lived in the Boston area and moved to Woodbury permanently in 1948, where he lived until his 1975 death at age 66. He had a big hit in 1952 with the song "Blue Tango."
Arthur Fiedler premiered the song with the Boston Pops, who Leroy was an arranger for earlier in his career. Words for "Sleigh Ride" were added in 1950 by Mitchell Parish, and the song has since become a Christmas classic. Like "Winter Wonderland," this song does not make any specific reference to Christmas, but the seasonal imagery has made it very much associated with the holiday. It's hard to think of a sleigh in winter without thinking of Santa. The lyrics, "Like a picture print by Currier and Ives" refer to a printmaking firm that produced some of the most iconic and popular American artwork of the 19th century. The company specialized in publishing hand-colored lithographs that were sold inexpensively to the American middle class. A sample can be seen here . The Ventures did an instrumental version that is based on their hit "Walk - Don't Run." Another unusual take on the song comes courtesy of The Ronettes, who recorded it under the direction of producer Phil Spector. This version has the famous "Ring-a-ling-a-ling Ding-dong-ding" backup vocals, and has become one of the more popular recordings of the song. It was included on the 1963 album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, which had the misfortune of being released the same day US president John F. Kennedy was assassinated: November 22, 1963. Other artists to record this song include Neil Diamond, Ella Fitzgerald, Amy Grant , Harry Connick, Jr., Herb Alpert, the Spice Girls, TLC, Kenny G, KT Tunstall, Air Supply, the Carpenters, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Hampton String Quartet, Hilary Duff, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Vera Lynn, Natalie Cole, and She & Him, and fun. A version by Bela Fleck got a Grammy nomination in 2009 for Best Country Instrumental Performance. According to ASCAP, this was the most-played holiday song on American radio from 2009-2012, beating out "Winter Wonderland," "The Christmas Song" and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!." 