The Tragedy Behind 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day'

On this episode of Our American Stories, in December 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was in mourning. His wife had died in a fire two years earlier. His son had been wounded in the Civil War. And the country itself felt beyond repair. That Christmas, he sat down and wrote a poem about the sound of church bells, one that began in sorrow and ended with a quiet return to hope. The words were later set to music and became “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Robert Morgan, author of 100 Bible Verses That Made America, shares the story of how one of our most familiar carols was born in one of the darkest years in American history.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. Our next story
is about the famous Christmas Carol. I heard the bells
on Christmas Day. The song's been recorded by Harry Belafonte,
Johnny Cash, Andy Williams, Johnny Marks, and Frank Sinatra, to
name a few. You to tell the story is Robert Morgan,
who's the author of one hundred Bible verses that made America,

(00:32):
defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith. Let's
take a listen.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
The famous Longfellow brothers were born and raised in Portland, Maine,
in the eighteen hundreds. Henry Wadsworth was born in eighteen
oh seven and Samuel in eighteen nineteen. Henry became a
Harvard Professor of literature and one of America's greatest writers,
authoring works like Paul Revere's Ride.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
You know the rest in the books you have read,
how the British regulars fired and fled, how the farmers
gave them ball for ball from behind each fence and
farm yard wall, chasing the red coats down the lane,
then crossing the fields to emerge again under the trees
at the turn of the road, and only pausing to
fire and load. So through the night rode Paul Revere.

(01:22):
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
to every Middlesex village and farm, a cry of defiance
and not of fear, a voice in the darkness, a
knock at the door, and a word that shall echo
for evermore, forborne on the night wind of the past,
through all our history to the last. In the hour

(01:45):
of darkness and peril and need, the people will waken
and listen to hear the hurrying hoof beats of that
steed and the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
There were over twenty four different companies that published his works.
His writings became immensely popular throughout Europe, and one of
his most loyal fans was President Abraham Lincoln. While Henry
was publishing his books, dark clouds were gathering over his
life and over the United States. In eighteen sixty one,

(02:22):
his wife tragically died when her dress caught on fire
in their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That same year, the
Civil War broke out, tearing the nation apart. Two years later,
during the fiercest days of the conflict, Henry sung Charlie seventeen,
ran away from home and hopped to board a train
to join.

Speaker 4 (02:41):
The Union Army.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Charlie proved a brave soldier in a popular one. He
saw action at the Battle of Chancellorsville in eighteen sixty three,
but in early June he contracted typhoid fever and malaria
and was sent home to recover. By August, Charlie was
well enough to return to the field. On November twenty seventh,
during the Battle of New Hope Church and Virginia, he

(03:07):
was shot through the left shoulder. The bullet nicked his
spine and came close to paralyzing him. He was carried
into the church and later taken to Washington to recover.
Receiving the news on December first, Henry left immediately for Washington.
He found his son well enough to travel, and they
headed back to Cambridge, arriving there on the eighth. For weeks,

(03:31):
Henry sat by his son's bedside, slowly nursing his boy
back to health. On Christmas Day, December twenty five, eighteen
sixty three, Henry gave vent to his feelings, writing a
reflective carol that can only be understood against the backdrop
of the war. Two stands, as now omitted from most hymnals,

(03:53):
speak of the cannons thundering in the south, and of
hatred tearing apart the hearthstones of the continent. The poet
feels like dropping his head in despair.

Speaker 5 (04:07):
The cannon thundered in the south, and with a sound
the carous drowned, and in despair.

Speaker 4 (04:34):
About my head.

Speaker 6 (04:38):
There is no peace on earth, I said, for hate
is straw.

Speaker 4 (04:52):
And mocks the sun of peace on earth. Goodwill two men.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
But then he hears the Christmas bells, their triumphant pealing
reminds him that God is not dead, nor doth.

Speaker 7 (05:18):
He sleep, God who lives, and feel the bills more
loud and deep. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.

Speaker 5 (05:45):
The wrong shall say.

Speaker 6 (05:48):
The right prevailble with peace on earth, goodwill.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
The Sunday school children of Longfellow's local church in Boston
first sang this song during that year's Christmas celebration. I
heard the bells on Christmas Day reminds us that no
matter how deep our painters sorrow, we are but a
breath away from the sweet bells and singing of Heaven.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
Then pee the bells more loud and deep.

Speaker 7 (06:31):
God is not dead, nor do heasleep.

Speaker 3 (06:40):
The wrong shelf fail the raw.

Speaker 4 (06:46):
Prevail with peace Earth good with.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
Two and a terrific job on the production, editing and
storytelling by our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks
to Robert Morgan who's the author of one hundred Bible
verses that made America and what a story he told here.

(07:18):
God is Not Dead, the story of Longfellows. I heard
the bells here on our American Stories Leah abib here,
and I'm inviting you to help our American Stories celebrate
this country's two hundred and fiftieth birthday only a short
time away. If you want to help inspire countless others

(07:40):
to love America like we do, and want to help
us bring the inspiring and important stories told here to
millions for years to come, please consider making a tax
deductible donation to our American Stories. Go to Ouramericanstories dot
com and click the donate button. Give a little, give
a lot, any amount helps. Go to Auramerican Stories dot
com and give