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.

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.