Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Rhett Walker sings this standard largely as written, but makes one deliberate change to the line every other recording keeps intact: "through the years we all will be together, if the Lord allows."

The original 1944 lyric reads "if the fates allow" — a vague nod to fortune with no particular source. Walker's swap replaces that vagueness with a specific claim, echoing James's instruction that any plan for the future should be held loosely, spoken as "if the Lord wills."

"Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore, faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more" keeps the rest of the song's nostalgic, gathered-together imagery unchanged.

"Hang a shining star upon the highest bough, and have yourself a merry little Christmas now" closes the song the way it always has, but the one word swapped earlier reframes everything that follows it — not fate keeping a family together, but a specific Lord being asked to.