A day or two agoI thought I’d take a rideAnd soon, Miss Fanny BrightWas seated by my side,
The horse was lean and lankMisfortune seemed his lotHe got into a drifted bankAnd then we got upsot.
A day or two ago,The story I must tellI went out on the snow,
And on my back I fell;A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh,He laughed as there I sprawling lie,But quickly drove away.
Now the ground is whiteGo it while you’re young,
Take the girls tonightand sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bobtailed bayTwo forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleighAnd crack! you’ll take the lead
This lesser known version of the song describes picking up girls, racing in the snow and crashing at high speed. The lyric "go while you're young" in the last verse of the secular standard is hardly a holy or silent night.