Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", a song written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, was introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical "Meet Me in St. Louis". Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in American cinema. The song was written while Martin was vacationing in a flat in
Maybe This Christmas and Richard B. Smith's "Winter Wonderland". Sexsmith's title track is less than two minutes in length and has a shuffling beat. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) features a downtempo, "jazz-like" solo piano performance by Chris Martin of Coldplay. Tracks exclusive to the album include Vanessa Carlton's piano-driven rendition of the traditional song "Greensleeves" as well as Bright Eyes' cover of "Blue Christmas" (Bill Hayes, Jay Johnson); others include Sense Field's version of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "What a Year for a New Year" by Dan Wilson, lead singer