The author of the song "Jingle Bells" was a proud Confederate soldier of the 5th Georgia Cavalry

chaloner

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Jul 10, 2013
The author of the song "Jingle Bells" was a proud Confederate soldier of the 5th Georgia Cavalry named James Lord Pierpoint (1822 - 1893). He also wrote other timeless classics such as "Our Battle Flag", "Strike for the South", and "We Conquer or Die".

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As someone who had to work through a Christmas season at a department store that played Christmas music non-stop, I think this guy should be taken out and--severely reprimanded! 😤
When the woke folk find out that tune was written by a Confederate it'll be toast. And anybody or any place that plays the tune will be attacked. Soon, retail establishments will quit playing it - and will monitor their employees' social media to see if they play it and fire them if they do - so as to avoid being a target. And then you'll be FREE !
 
When the woke folk find out that tune was written by a Confederate it'll be toast. And anybody or any place that plays the tune will be attacked. Soon, retail establishments will quit playing it - and will monitor their employees' social media to see if they play it and fire them if they do - so as to avoid being a target. And then you'll be FREE !
Sounds good to me! Now, what do you think that the chances are that "Frosty the Snowman" was written by a Confederate?
 
The author of the song "Jingle Bells" was a proud Confederate soldier of the 5th Georgia Cavalry named James Lord Pierpoint (1822 - 1893). He also wrote other timeless classics such as "Our Battle Flag", "Strike for the South", and "We Conquer or Die".

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Once little more than obscure Civil War trivia, the Confederate origin of "Jingle Bells" was recently revealed to the public at large by the Washington Post. Will be interesting to see what the reaction is:

"The forgotten civil war history of two of our favorite Christmas carols"

 
As someone who had to work through a Christmas season at a department store that played Christmas music non-stop, I think this guy should be taken out and--severely reprimanded! 😤
Poor you.
I cannot walk into a store that's playing hackneyed seasonal music the day after Thanksgiving (and sometimes even before) without feeling profound pity for the staff. But you can't blame ol' Jimmy for trying to make a buck -- I'm sure he didn't foresee the damage his song would cause!

I had no idea that "Jingle Bells" was that old. I thought it was some nostalgic monstrosity from the 1940s-50s, or maybe the 20s at the earliest... but the article that Claude Bauer linked said 1857!
Imagine that -- a small-time antebellum songwriter releases a hit that becomes so popular that, even 160 years later, it is still performed often enough to put every retail worker in America on the edge of a nervous breakdown by mid-December each year.
Not only that: according to the Faber piano book (Level 4) that I had as a kid, "Jingle Bells" went on to become the most-recorded popular song of all time.
Whatever you say about the song, staying in the "oral tradition" that long at all, let alone being #1, is pretty danged impressive.
The same piano book said that "St. Louis Blues" by W.C. Handy takes second place for most recordings made, and that wasn't published until 1914.
I don't know if I will ever be able to number "Jingle Bells" among the songs that I only started liking when I learned the story behind them.
But I suppose I've got to show it a little respect now.
1857. Sheeesh. 😳
 
Poor you.
I cannot walk into a store that's playing hackneyed seasonal music the day after Thanksgiving (and sometimes even before) without feeling profound pity for the staff. But you can't blame ol' Jimmy for trying to make a buck -- I'm sure he didn't foresee the damage his song would cause!

I had no idea that "Jingle Bells" was that old. I thought it was some nostalgic monstrosity from the 1940s-50s, or maybe the 20s at the earliest... but the article that Claude Bauer linked said 1857!
Imagine that -- a small-time antebellum songwriter releases a hit that becomes so popular that, even 160 years later, it is still performed often enough to put every retail worker in America on the edge of a nervous breakdown by mid-December each year.
Not only that: according to the Faber piano book (Level 4) that I had as a kid, "Jingle Bells" went on to become the most-recorded popular song of all time.
Whatever you say about the song, staying in the "oral tradition" that long at all, let alone being #1, is pretty danged impressive.
The same piano book said that "St. Louis Blues" by W.C. Handy takes second place for most recordings made, and that wasn't published until 1914.
I don't know if I will ever be able to number "Jingle Bells" among the songs that I only started liking when I learned the story behind them.
But I suppose I've got to show it a little respect now.
1857. Sheeesh. 😳
I had to learn Jingle Bells for a fife and drum corps set, and the music director told us that back in the day, it was also considered a song about young people having a wild time on a fun ride, as much as it was a Christmas carol. Kind of like the Beach Boys singing about the Little Duce Coup:

Well, I'm not bragging babe so don't put me down (deuce coupe)
But I've got the fastest set of wheels in town (deuce coupe)
When something comes up to me, he don't even try (deuce coupe)
'Cause if I had a set of wings, man I know she could fly

[Chorus]
She's my little deuce coupe (or one horse open sleigh 🙂)
You don't know what I got
 
It's a fine tune ...if you can tune it out whenever you want.

Pierpont didn't arrive in Georgia until 1856 (after a spell in California). His song was inspired by the New Englandwinters ofhis youth. There aren't all that many sleighs in Georgia.

Confederate cavalry seems a strange place for the son of a Boston abolitionist, only recently arrived in the South. His father was a Union army chaplain.
 
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Confederate cavalry seems a strange place for the son of a Boston abolitionist, only recently arrived in the South. His father was a Union army chaplain.
I wonder how it ended up there? @DBF here is a story for you to follow - I'd really like to know about this man!
 
As someone who had to work through a Christmas season at a department store that played Christmas music non-stop, I think this guy should be taken out and--severely reprimanded! 😤

Hopefully you will not have to endure it any more for some time yet.
When I went to my local supermarket yesterday almost all the Christmas items were gone and Hot Cross Buns are already on the shelves! No doubt the shelves housing Christmas items will soon be replaced with chocolate eggs and other Easter items even though Easter does not arrive until April next year.
 
I wonder how it ended up there? @DBF here is a story for you to follow - I'd really like to know about this man!
If you read his Wikipedia entry, "In 1832, James was sent to a boarding school in New Hampshire. He wrote a letter to his mother about riding in a sleigh through the December snow." Then he ran away to sea in a Nantucket whaler. Had quite an adventurous youth. Returned to Boston after a spell in the Gold Rush. In 1856, his father became pastor of a Unitarian congregation in Georgia, but it was forced to close down because of its antislavery sentiments. Dad returned to Boston in 1859, son remained in Georgia and became a Presbyterian. Might have been some dodgy father/son dynamic complicating his decisions.
 
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