WASHINGTON 鈥� It鈥檚 one of the iconic songs of Christmas, but the people who wrote it did so to trick themselves into cooling down on a sweltering summer day.
鈥淭he Christmas Song,鈥� informally known as 鈥淐hestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,鈥� was written in 1945 by jazz singer Mel Torme and his writing partner, Bob Wells. Torme鈥檚 son, James, tells CBS 草莓传媒 that Wells started the ball rolling. 鈥淲ells said, 鈥楳el, I cannot cool down today, and I thought that if I could just [write] down a little wintry poetry, I may be able to trick myself,鈥欌�� James Torme says.
They finished the song in about 40 minutes, James Torme says, and immediately brought it to Nat 鈥淜ing鈥� Cole.
鈥淎nd before they could get to the end, [Cole] said, 鈥楽top! That鈥檚 MY song.鈥�
鈥淎nd it really was.鈥�
