<Tr> <Th> Composer (s) </Th> <Td> Hugh Martin </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Lyricist (s) </Th> <Td> Ralph Blane </Td> </Tr> <P> "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", a song written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, was introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis . Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics . In 2007, ASCAP ranked "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" the third most performed Christmas song, during the preceding five years, that had been written by ASCAP members . In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in American cinema . </P> <P> The song was written while Martin was vacationing in a flat in the neighborhood of Southside in Birmingham, Alabama, that his father Hugh Martin designed for his mother as a honeymoon cottage . Located at 1919 South 15th Avenue (just down the street from his birthplace at 1900 South 14th Avenue), the house became the home of Martin and his family in 1923 . The song first appeared in a scene in Meet Me in St. Louis, in which a family is distraught by the father's plans to move to New York City for a job promotion, leaving behind their beloved home in St. Louis, Missouri, just before the long - anticipated 1904 World's Fair begins . In a scene set on Christmas Eve, Judy Garland's character, Esther, sings the song to cheer up her despondent five - year - old sister, Tootie, played by Margaret O'Brien . </P>

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