Sleigh Ride was composed as an instrumental work, but the celebrated lyricist Mitchell Parish wrote words for it in 1950. This will seem a silly thing to say, but I don't really consider this to really be the same song. It's like that old Saturday Night Live sketch with Bill Murray singing the Star Wars theme song. Accept only the original! Which is right here:
Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops - Sleigh Ride (MP3, 2.8MB)
Previous Advent posts:
2004: We Three Kings
2005: Los Reyes Magos
2006: Three wee kings
2007: Twelfth Night
2008: Columba Altarpiece