Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – English Lyrics

• By: Dan + Shay

Lyrics & Translation

Learn the heartwarming language of Christmas with Dan + Shay's beautiful cover of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." This song's gentle and hopeful lyrics offer a wonderful opportunity to learn classic holiday expressions and vocabulary in English. The simple, heartfelt message of togetherness and hope makes it a special and accessible song for language learners to connect with the spirit of the season.

[English]

Have yourself a merry little christmas

Let your heart be light

From now on our trouble will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little christmas

Make the yuletide gay

From now on our trouble will be miles away

Hear we are as olden days

Happy golden days of yore

Faithful friends who are dear to us

Gather near to us once more

Through the years we all will be together

If the fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough

And have yourself a merry little christmas now

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
merry /ˈmeri/ B1	adjective - cheerful and lively
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - the organ in your chest that pumps blood
light /laɪt/ A1	adjective - not heavy noun - brightness
trouble /ˈtrʌbl/ A2	noun - difficulties or problems
sight /saɪt/ A2	noun - the ability to see
yuletide /ˈjuːltaɪd/ B2	noun - the Christmas season
gay /ɡeɪ/ B2	adjective - lighthearted and carefree
miles /maɪlz/ A1	noun - plural of mile, a unit of distance
olden /ˈoʊldən/ B2	adjective - belonging to the past; ancient
golden /ˈɡoʊldən/ B1	adjective - made of or resembling gold
yore /jɔːr/ C1	noun - of long ago or former times
faithful /ˈfeɪθfʊl/ B1	adjective - loyal and reliable
dear /dɪr/ A2	adjective - loved or cherished
gather /ˈɡæðər/ B1	verb - to come together; assemble
years /jɪrz/ A1	noun - plural of year
fates /feɪts/ B2	noun - the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power.
hang /hæŋ/ A2	verb - suspend or be suspended from above
shining /ˈʃaɪnɪŋ/ B1	adjective - emitting or reflecting light; radiant
star /stɑːr/ A1	noun - a fixed luminous point in the night sky
highest /ˈhaɪɪst/ A2	adjective - most elevated in position or rank.
bough /baʊ/ B2	noun - a main branch of a tree

Key Grammar Structures

• Let your heart be light

  ➔ Imperative sentence with a verb in the base form

  ➔ The phrase 'Let your heart be light' uses a subjunctive or imperative construction to give a gentle command or suggestion.

• From now on our trouble will be out of sight

  ➔ Future simple tense with 'will' to indicate a future certainty

  ➔ The use of 'will' signifies a promise or the certainty that 'trouble' will be gone in the future.

• Make the yuletide gay

  ➔ Imperative sentence with a base verb, expressing a wish or command

  ➔ This is an imperative form, which gives a command or suggestion to 'make the yuletide gay', meaning to make the Christmas festive and joyful.

• And have yourself a merry little christmas now

  ➔ Imperative sentence with reflexive pronoun 'yourself' and present tense verb

  ➔ The sentence uses a reflexive pronoun 'yourself' with an imperative verb, encouraging the listener to enjoy the Christmas.

• Gather near to us once more

  ➔ Imperative sentence with adverbial phrase 'once more' to indicate repetition

  ➔ The phrase 'once more' emphasizes the wish for people to gather again, highlighting repetition or going back to a previous joyful gathering.

• Hang a shining star upon the highest bough

  ➔ Imperative with prepositional phrase 'upon the highest bough' specifying the location

  ➔ The phrase 'upon the highest bough' specifies where to hang the star, using a prepositional phrase to indicate the location for the action.