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Song: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
1. Song: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem "
I heard the bells on Christmas day" (later put to music) on Christmas Day, 1864, in a small town in Massachusetts.
He had endured several family tragedies. He saw many seriously wounded young men, including his son, and, like many, wondered why.
Wadsworth and many others were unaware that Lincoln and Grant, with the help of Sherman and Sheridan, had decided to reintroduce total war (war on civilians as well as soldiers) to the world and a war of attrition.
Cold Harbor (June 12, 1864): 1,500 dead, 3,000 wounded in 20 minutes.
80 years after the poem: Battle of the Bulge (and after) in World War II.
Missionary Ridge (November 25, 1863)
2. Verse 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!
3. Civil war
During the American Civil War, his son enlisted (without his initial knowledge) in the Union army. Recovering from illness, he missed the battle of Gettysburg but returned and was severely wounded in the battle of New Hope Church, VA. Returning home, Longfellow helped with his son's recovery.
There were many others with wounded sons in town - having hardships too. When the bells tolled on Christmas day, Longfellow wrote the poem, later put to music, that expressed his frustration and, at the same time, faith that "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail".
4. 1864
Longfellow, as with most people at the time, were unaware of the strategic decisions made by General Grant and President Abraham Lincoln.
That decision was to not swap prisoners and attack the South, despite heavy losses, knowing that the North could lose two soldiers for each Southern soldier lost (about the causality rate) and the South would run out of soldiers first.
5. Before and after
Historian Shelby Foote (1916-2005) makes the following observation.
Before the Civil War, the (united) states are a country.
After the Civil War, the united states is a country.
6. Verse 2
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!
7. Verse 3
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!
8. Verse 4
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!
9. Verse 5
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!
10. Verse 6
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!
11. Verse 7
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.
*Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right. Abraham Lincoln
Fast forward 80 years to the day on December 25, 1944 (and the eve the night before).
12. End of page
