Notes from my knapsack 12-19-19

Notes from my knapsack 12-19-19

Jeff Gill

 

Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow

___

 

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is one of those standards which has gone through a variety of transformations, from Judy Garland singing it in "Meet Me in St. Louis" to Frank Sinatra wanting a more upbeat version for a holiday album to Esperanza Spalding with John Legend more recently.

 

Hugh Martin was working in an atmosphere, in 1944, similar to the sentiments that drove "I'll Be Home for Christmas" the year before: service members in all the branches of the military and many other civilians besides scattered across the globe in a world war, hoping and praying for a swift and happy return home. Some would make it, others would not; a few would be there in person and others "if only in my dreams."

 

Christmas 1944 we now know was just a few months away from the war's end, but they couldn't have been certain it would be that soon . . . and in fact quite a few still didn't come home until after Christmas 1945. "Someday soon, we all will be together, if the Lord allows" was one version of the original song, muted in religious content to "if the fates allow" for the movie.

 

But by 1957 both World War II and the Korean Wars were both over, and high hopes for an end to war were common, and in the enthusiastic optimist of the Fifties, Sinatra didn't want to muddle through anything. He wanted hope and aspiration, so he went back to Martin and asked him to brighten up one line.

 

The result? "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough!" Aspirational enough for you? Up and out and onwards, with glitter and joy and a reach to the very top. Perfect for the times, Frank thought.

 

God bless her, Ella Fitzgerald a few years later knew that not everyone in America was just reaching for the tall branches, and she reached back . . . and sang a version that included both lines. We have to muddle through somehow, and we want to reach that highest bough. Ella always did know her audiences.

 

Today we can talk to people on the other side of the world at the Thanksgiving table, as my family did spread seven time zones apart, through screens and signals and stories. We still miss each other, but in such a different way than was the case for our parents' and grandparents' generation. There's a wistfulness and longing that can't be replicated.

 

But we do still move and relocate and separate, for all that email and texting can keep us together. Our scattered families and spread out networks of friends and colleagues and acquaintances need connections and coherence and comfort. Judy was singing to Margaret in that old movie because she wanted to help her feel better at Christmastime. The Smith family may not have ended up leaving old St. Louis and stays to see the 1904 World's Fair, but we all know that someday most of them are probably going to end up living somewhere else, with Christmas memories what keeps them united.

 

This time of year, we think about holiday seasons past, and those who aren't with us anymore, and work on how to include people new to our traditions and celebrations, which can be hard. But we'll muddle through somehow!

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; he's hoping your hearts will be light! Hang a shining memory on his virtual mailbox at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.