The carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is based a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. During the American Civil War, Longfellow’s oldest son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, joined the Union cause as a soldier without his father’s blessing. Charles soon got an appointment as a lieutenant but was severely wounded in battle. Coupled with the recent loss of his wife Frances, who died as a result of an accidental fire, Longfellow was inspired to write his poem “Christmas Bells” in 1863.

In 2008, the contemporary Christian group, Casting Crowns, scored a No. 1 Christian hit with “I Heard the Bells”, from their album Peace on Earth. The song is not an exact replica of the original poem, but an interpolation with a new chorus. Both the poem and the song include the words: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail…”. A timely reminder to us during the current pandemic and lock-down, that God is still in charge of the world.

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.”