I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
Longfellow is not usually thought of as a hymn writer, but one of
his poems has been set to music by an Englishman, John Calkin, and the
result is one of our most popular Christmas carols.
On Christmas Day, 1863, Longfellow wrote of the joys of the
season:
I
heard the bells on Christmas day
Their
old familiar carols play,
And
wild and sweet the words repeat
Of
peace on earth, good will to men.
As he came to the third stanza he was stopped by the thought of
the condition of his beloved country.
The Civil War was in full swing.
The Battle of Gettysburg was not more than six months past.
Days looked dark, and he probably asked himself the question,
“How can the last phrase of those stanzas to be true in this war-torn
country, where brother fights against brother and father against son?” But he kept writing:
As
in despair I bowed my head:
“There
is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For
hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of
peace on earth, good will to man!”
It seems as if he could have been writing for the present day,
too.
Then, as every Christian should do, he turned his thoughts to the
one who solves all problems:
Then
pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God
is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The
wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With
peace on earth, good will to men.”
—Lindsay I. Terry
1
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their
old familiar carols play,
And
wild and sweet the words repeat
Of
peace on earth, good will to men.
2
I thought how as the day had come,
The
belfries of all Christendom
Had
rolled along th’unbroken song
Of
peace on earth, good will to men.
3
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There
is no peace on earth,”
I
said “For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of
peace on earth, good will to men.
4
Then peeled the bells more loud and deep:
“God
is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The
wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With
peace on earth, good will to men.
5
Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The
world revolved from night to day
A
voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of
peace on earth, good will to men.
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