# Jingle Bells - who is Miss Fanny Bright? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328 "2011-12-07T01:56:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Greymarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f6c823/32.png) [@Greymarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greymarch)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/1 "2011-12-07T01:56:04Z")
In the famous christmas song Jingle Bells, the lyrics mention someone named “Miss Fanny Bright.” Who is Miss Fanny Bright? Was this a real person? If so, why was this person mentioned in the song? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/2 "2011-12-07T02:03:05Z")
They discuss it some [here](http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/jingle_bells.htm). Apparently there’s a Fanny Bright, age 11, listed in the 1860 census. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/3 "2011-12-07T02:31:28Z")
“Two forty as his speed”? What’s that? A mile in 2 min 40 seconds? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/4 "2011-12-07T03:12:16Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > “Two forty as his speed”? What’s that? A mile in 2 min 40 seconds? Could be. That would be a bit over 22 mph., which sounds like a decent speed for a standardbred, (or even a trotter), when pulling a sleigh across packed snow. ---
**Author:** ![Greymarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f6c823/32.png) [@Greymarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greymarch)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/5 "2011-12-07T03:50:27Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > They discuss it some [here](http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/jingle_bells.htm). Apparently there’s a Fanny Bright, age 11, listed in the 1860 census. I also saw that link. The song has been around for over 140 years. Surely someone, somewhere knows the truth. The local census could be a coincidence. There must be more to it. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/6 "2011-12-07T04:36:58Z")
Surely most should realize that “Jingle Bells” is not a Christmas song; its a winter song. I doubt it can be classified a carol, as the YouTube article says. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/7 "2011-12-07T06:21:20Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Could be. That would be a bit over 22 mph., which sounds like a decent speed for a standardbred, (or even a trotter), when pulling a sleigh across packed snow. I had a kind of an idea it was 240 hoofbeats to the minute, which to my musical ear sounds like a briskly-trotting horse (march tempo with twice as many legs), but I’m no horseman. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/8 "2011-12-07T19:10:25Z")
> [@Greymarch](#): > > I also saw that link. The song has been around for over 140 years. Surely someone, somewhere knows the truth. The local census could be a coincidence. There must be more to it. That link also shows that Fanny Bright was not in the original song. The third verse given in the sheet music is as follows: A day or two ago, The story I must tell I went out on the snow And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a one horse open sleight, He laughed as there I sprawling lie, But quickly drove away. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/9 "2011-12-07T20:04:38Z")
[del]Bright Fanny[/del] Fanny Bright is in the second chorus. 1. A day or two ago I tho’t I’d take a ride And soon Miss Fannie Bright Was seated by my side, The horse was lean and lank Misfortune seem’d his lot He got into a drifted bank And we - we got up sot. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/10 "2011-12-07T21:11:02Z")
I can think of two possibilities: [ol] [li]Whoever wrote the song really had a girlfriend named Fanny Bright, and he included her name in the song[/li][li]He pulled the name out of the air because it fit well with the rhyming scheme and rhythm of the song[/li][/ol] We will probably never know the correct answer, but does it really matter? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/11 "2011-12-07T21:14:01Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [del]Bright Fanny[/del] Fanny Bright is in the second chorus. > > 1. A day or two ago > I tho’t I’d take a ride > And soon Miss Fannie Bright > Was seated by my side, > The horse was lean and lank > Misfortune seem’d his lot > He got into a drifted bank > And we - we got up sot. I don’t know how I missed that. I guess I just assumed the third verse was the right one because it starts the same. ---
**Author:** ![Jacko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4af34b/32.png) [@Jacko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jacko)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/12 "2012-12-21T15:43:41Z")
I have long suspected that the name given to this girl is slightly off-color. If you look up definitions of “Fanny,” you’ll see what I mean. The singer is riding with a girl with a bright fanny? (I hope this suggestion, which I think would appeal to many literary scholars, does not violate The Straight Dope rules.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/13 "2012-12-21T16:11:47Z")
There’s a plaque on the corner in Medford MA (on the very block where I lived for six months) stating that this song was based on sleigh races held in downtown Medford. In fact, they have a festival every year to celebrate it: > [@](#): > > About the Song > “Jingle Bells,” the now world famous holiday tune, was composed at the Simpson Tavern in Medford, Massachusetts in 1850 by James Pierpont (1822-1893). The tavern stood at the site which is now 19 High Street in Medford Square. The song was composed in the presence of Mrs. Otis Waterman, who later verified the location of the song’s composition. In 1857, James Pierpont, while living in Georgia, copyrighted “Jingle Bells.” The lyrics of the song tell of the sleigh rides held on Salem Street in the early 1800s. > **[Medford Jingle Bell Festival](http://www.jinglebellfestival.org/index_0308.htm)** > **[File:Jingle Bells 19 High St Medford MA-2010.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jingle_Bells_19_High_St_Medford_MA-2010.jpg)** > > Jingle\_Bells\_19\_High\_St\_Medford\_MA-2010.jpg (497 × 268 pixels, file size: 175 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) > Public domain. Plaque is displayed publicly without copyright notice or artist attribution. > Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. > You cannot overwrite this file. If this is tue, the existence of a Fanny Bright in Connecticut is prettty irrelevant to the song, which the above claims was written in medford ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/14 "2012-12-21T18:13:25Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > “Two forty as his speed”? What’s that? A mile in 2 min 40 seconds? > [@tomndebb](#): > > Could be. That would be a bit over 22 mph., which sounds like a decent speed for a standardbred, (or even a trotter), when pulling a sleigh across packed snow. The lyrics are: > [@](#): > > Just get a bob tailed bay > Two forty as his speed > Hitch him to an open sleigh > And crack, you’ll take the lead Two forty, 2:40, is the bay’s speed on dry ground. It’s just saying that you should use a fast horse, not the speed of the horse pulling a sleigh through snow, a very different thing. The reference would be to a [trotting horse](http://www.mi-harness.net/publct/hb/frstlads.html), one hitched to a two-wheeled sulky for racing. Two forty would be a good time for an ordinary horse. Racing horses had just begun to break two thirty in 1850. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/15 "2012-12-21T18:35:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > There’s a plaque on the corner in Medford MA (on the very block where I lived for six months) stating that this song was based on sleigh races held in downtown Medford. In fact, they have a festival every year to celebrate it: In that case we can be pretty sure that Fanny used a metric ton of hairspray. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/16 "2012-12-21T18:49:55Z")
According to my aussie friend, ‘fanny bright’ would be the australian equivalent of ‘Pussy Galore’ (of James Bond fame) today. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/17 "2012-12-21T19:42:01Z")
I can’t help but think that that’s a mondegreen of some kind… ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/18 "2012-12-21T22:44:20Z")
I learned that line of the verse as “and soon my dearest love was seated by my side.” ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/19 "2012-12-22T00:36:37Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I can’t help but think that that’s a mondegreen of some kind… If the song is based around races, maybe ‘Fanny’ is a diminutive of ‘fan’, i.e., a sleigh race groupie. And a ‘Fanny Bright’ may be a nickname of such a fan. Was ‘fan’ used as such back at the time of the origin of the song? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328/20 "2012-12-22T00:43:30Z")
> [@svd678](#): > > Surely most should realize that “Jingle Bells” is not a Christmas song; its a winter song. To be specific, a Thanksgiving song. And it’s basically about a traditional sleigh race the author’s town held each year. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jingle-bells-who-is-miss-fanny-bright/605328.md?page=2)