“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” Lyrics

A lot of people on Reddit seem to think the Mandela Effect is at play here, but that simply is not the case. The Mandela Effect relies on a false memory. Professional singers to not rely on their memories when they record popular music: they rely on sheet music which they have obtained from a publisher and to whom they must pay royalties to record and release the publisher’s music.

Both “plan” and “count” versions of the song have been around since the 1940s. In fact, Bing Crosby, who introduced the song, recorded at least two versions of the song in the 40s: one on which he sings “plan,” and one on which he sings “count.”

(cont’d)

Some artists who have recorded “plan”: Perry Como (1946), Frank Sinatra (1957), Elvis Presley (1957), Connie Francis, Dean Martin, Doris Day, The Beach Boys, Anne Murray, Michael Bublé, Matthew Ifield, Susan Boyle, …

Some artists who have recorded “count”: Johnny Mathis (1958), Al Green, The Carpenters, Rascal Flatts, Josh Groban, Sarah MacLachlan, Babyface, Martina McBride, Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, Seth MacFarlane, Camila Cabelo, Pentatonix, The Statler Brothers, Barbra Streisand, John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John, Twisted Sister, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton …

Listeners will remember the lyrics they grew up listening to. They didn’t all grow up listening to Crosby’s “plan” version, so in the vast majority of cases, there is no false memory to invoke the Mandela Effect.

There are online sources for both versions, and obviously there is sheet music for both versions. It cannot be said that one version or the other is wrong.