Post by Alex on Dec 25, 2007 10:27:40 GMT -8
Good morning and merry Christmas.
In honor of the day I'm posting one of my favorite carols. Until a few years ago I've never payed it much attention; until I heard it sung with the original stanzas.
The 4th and 5th stanzas, which are dropped in the modern version, take the song from a general celebration of Christmas, and reveal it as a personal struggle during a time of heavy tribulation - in this case the civil war and personal loss. (Originally I thought it from the Napoleonic wars, but it really carries through modern conflict.)
This window into personal trial sets meaning and relevance for the 6th stanza - the focal element of the carol. In this the author (and the audience) are empowered to resist falling to man's despair, carried by the victorious defiance of the bells.
Wikipedia Article
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
based on the poem "Christmas Bells," composed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) in 1864.
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.
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 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.
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.”
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.
In honor of the day I'm posting one of my favorite carols. Until a few years ago I've never payed it much attention; until I heard it sung with the original stanzas.
The 4th and 5th stanzas, which are dropped in the modern version, take the song from a general celebration of Christmas, and reveal it as a personal struggle during a time of heavy tribulation - in this case the civil war and personal loss. (Originally I thought it from the Napoleonic wars, but it really carries through modern conflict.)
This window into personal trial sets meaning and relevance for the 6th stanza - the focal element of the carol. In this the author (and the audience) are empowered to resist falling to man's despair, carried by the victorious defiance of the bells.
Wikipedia Article
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
based on the poem "Christmas Bells," composed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) in 1864.
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.
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 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.
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.”
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.
