Judy Garland, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” From the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis.

See here for a note on the original lyrics to the song — they were almost elegiac. The lyrics were modified slightly at Garland’s request for inclusion in the movie. They were further revised to the happier ones we ordinarily hear today at Frank Sinatra’s request.

Then, in 1957, Frank Sinatra — who’d already cut a lovely version with the movie’s bittersweet lyrics in 1947 — came to Martin [Hugh, the song’s composer] with a request for yet another pick-me-up. ‘He called to ask if I would rewrite the ‘muddle through somehow’ line,” says the songwriter. “He said, ‘The name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?'” Not about to give the Chairman any lip, Martin made several cheerier alterations, shifting the happiness into the present tense and changing that “muddle through” line to “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.”