I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

by


I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is a Christmas carol based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Christmas Bells (1863). Longfellow's poem was first set to music by English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, in 1872. Longfellow's original lyrics have been adapted and set to music by a broad array of musicians including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rogers, and of course, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Carol of the Bells
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,
Longfellow's original lyrics have been adapted and 
set to music by a broad array of musicians including 
Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rogers, and of course, 
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

     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."

Longfellow's poem is also featured in Christmas Stories, Books, and Poems, and in 100 Great Poems. Enjoy our selection of Christmas Carols.


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