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= I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day =
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Introduction
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"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the
1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells
during the American Civil War, but despairing that "hate is strong and
mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men". After much
anguish and despondency the carol concludes with the bells ringing out
with resolution that "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep" and that
there will ultimately be "peace on earth, good will to men".
Origin
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In 1861, two years before writing this poem, Longfellow's personal
peace was shaken when his second wife of 18 years, to whom he was very
devoted, was fatally burned in an accidental fire. Then in 1863,
during the American Civil War, Longfellow's oldest son, Charles
Appleton Longfellow, joined the Union Army without his father's
blessing. Longfellow was informed by a letter dated March 14, 1863,
after Charles had left. "I have tried hard to resist the temptation of
going without your leave but I cannot any longer", he wrote. "I feel
it to be my first duty to do what I can for my country and I would
willingly lay down my life for it if it would be of any good." Charles
was soon appointed as a lieutenant but, in November, he was severely
wounded in the Battle of Mine Run. Charles eventually recovered, but
his time as a soldier was finished.
Longfellow wrote the poem on Christmas Day in 1863. "Christmas Bells"
was first published in February 1865, in 'Our Young Folks', a juvenile
magazine published by Ticknor and Fields. References to the Civil War
are prevalent in some of the verses that are not commonly sung. The
refrain "peace on earth, good will to men" is a reference to the King
James Version of Luke 2:14, in which angels herald the birth of
Christ.
Longfellow opens the seven-quatrain poem with a stanza expressing
optimism before quickly falling into the pessimistic mood reflecting
the nation during the Civil War. Nevertheless, the poem concludes with
a call for faith to overcome doubt and despair.
Lyrics
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The following are the original words of Longfellow's poem:
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
:and mild and sweet
:The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
:Had rolled along
:The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
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!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
:And with the sound
:The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
:And made forlorn
:The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
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!"
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."
Musical renditions
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It was not until 1872 that the poem is known to have been set to
music. The English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, used the poem in a
processional accompanied with a melody "Waltham" that he previously
used as early as 1848. The Calkin version of the carol was long the
standard. Less commonly, the poem has also been set to Joseph
Mainzer's 1845 composition "Mainzer". Harriet P. Sawyer (1862-1934)
also composed a setting for the poem. Other melodies have been
composed more recently, most notably in 1956 by Johnny Marks (arranged
by Lee Kjelson and Margaret Shelley Vance).
Bing Crosby recorded the song on October 3, 1956, using Marks's melody
and verses 1, 2, 6, 7. It was released as a single and reached No. 55
in the Music Vendor survey. The record was praised by both 'Billboard'
and 'Variety'. 'Variety' wrote "Bing Crosby's workover of 'I Heard the
Bells on Christmas Day' looks like a big one for the '56 Yule and a
hit potential of enduring value." 'Billboard' wrote "At deadline time,
not many of this year's Christmas issues had shown much action. This
new Crosby record, however, was off to a promising start. As fast as
it is catching on early in the month, it is easy to project the
impressive volume it will rack up the last half of December." Crosby
is said to have quipped to Marks: "I see you finally got yourself a
decent lyricist"
Marks's tune has since received more than 60 commercial recordings,
with total sales exceeding 5 million copies. Covers of the song
include versions by Harry Belafonte (1958), Johnny Cash (1963), Andy
Williams (1974), and Echosmith (2019), among many others.
In 2008, a contemporary Christian music group, Casting Crowns, scored
their eighth No. 1 Christian hit with "I Heard the Bells on Christmas
Day", from their album 'Peace on Earth'. The song is not an exact
replica of the original poem or carol, but an interpolation of verses
1, 6, 7 and 3 (in that order), interposed with a new chorus. Richard
Marx also used this version for his 'Christmas Spirit' in 2012.
In popular culture
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In chapter five of his 1962 novel 'Something Wicked This Way Comes',
Ray Bradbury describes this carol as "immensely moving, overwhelming,
no matter what day or what month it was sung." The carol provides an
ironic contrast to the evil that Mr. Dark's carnival is about to bring
to Green Town, Illinois. In the 1983 film adaptation of the novel, Mr.
Dark (Jonathan Pryce) and Charles Halloway (Jason Robards) both quote
passages from the carol when they meet in the town's library (though
Dark ominously states that "it's a thousand years to Christmas").
'I Heard the Bells' from Sight & Sound Films was released in 2022
and depicts the events surrounding Longfellow's writing of the poem.
See also
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* Christmas in the American Civil War
* List of Christmas carols
External links
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*
* and
* "[https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/christmas-bells.htm
Christmas Bells]" article from Longfellow House-Washington's
Headquarters National Historic Site
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_the_Bells_on_Christmas_Day