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The Blue Letter Bible

Hymns / Music :: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

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"Suddenly there was with the angel a great company of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.'" Luke 2:13-14

Hymns Supplied Through the Gracious Generosity
of the Cyber Hymnal Website

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) Words: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1864; original title: "Christmas Bells."

Music: "Waltham," John Baptiste Calkin, 1872


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John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905)

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.

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."


Historical Note: This hymn was written during the American Civil War, as reflected by the sense of despair in the next to last stanza. Stanzas 4-5 speak of the battle, and are usually omitted from hymnals:

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.

Information about the musical score and the Cyber Hymnal Website
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CONTENT DISCLAIMER:

The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.