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 th’ 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.
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 does He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
-- Henry W. Longfellow
I must say that this is one of my top 4 ‘Christmas’ songs. I love the timelessness of the truth, the honesty with which it assesses the state of the world and the hope it speaks of for the prevailing power of God to overcome and establish the peace that all men seek. I love the movement of the lyrics and the notion of bells that ring of truth. Of course, not knowing the truth, one would not know of what they ring. But knowing it brings a sigh of relief to my soul.
By the way, my other 3 (not necessarily in order of priority) are:
- Hallelujah Chorus
- Oh, Holy Night
- Snow Angel
