I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

This Christmas carol is based on a poem that American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in 1863 called "Christmas Bells." It tells of his despair upon hearing Christmas bells, "hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men."

Longfellow's oldest son, Charles Appleton Longfellow joined the Union during the American Civil War without his father's blessing. Charles was appointed as a lieutenant, but in November of 1863 he was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church in Virginia during the Mine Run Campaign. He had been shot through the left shoulder, with the bullet exiting under his right shoulder blade. It travelled across his back and skimmed his spine, narrowly avoiding paralyzing him by less than an inch.

Less than two years earlier, Longfellow's wife, Fannie, had died in a tragic accident involving fire. Longfellow was awakened from his nap to discover his wife's dress on fire. He tried to extinguish the flames, first with a rug, then with his own body, but it was too late. Fannie died the next morning. Longfellow's facial burns were so bad that he wasn't even able to attend his own wife's funeral.

On Christmas Day, 1863, Longfellow, then a 57 year old widower and father of six children, wrote the poem "Christmas Day" hoping to capture the turmoil in his own heart and the world around him. The theme of listening comes up throughout the poem, leading to a settledness of confident hope even in the midst of despair.

Source: thegospelcoalition.org and of course, Wikipedia.

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!

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."