Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Don Moen opens with two lines not found in the standard 1944 lyric at all: "Christmas future is far away, Christmas past is past, Christmas present is here today, bringing joy that may last" — a short original verse before the familiar song begins.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light, from now on our troubles will be out of sight" then follows the standard's opening exactly as written.

Like several other Christian recordings of this song, Moen's version makes the one deliberate substitution that separates a kept version from a flagged one: "through the years, we all will be together, if the Lord allows" — replacing the original's vague "if the fates allow" with a specific claim, echoing James's instruction to hold any future plan loosely, spoken as "if the Lord wills."

"Hang a shining star upon the highest bough, and have yourself a merry little Christmas now" closes the song on its familiar line, the added opening verse and the single swapped word both working in the same direction — toward something more specific than fate.