THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG:
Henry wadsworth Longfellow had lost his infant son. And shortly after, his wifes skirt caught on fire She was on fire, he tried to stop it, got burned himself, but couldn’t save her. Then his oldest son went off to fight in the civil war and was shot. The bullet ended up missing his spine by less than an inch so he wasn’t paralyzed but they found that out on Christmas Eve after thinking he could be paralyzed. So he’s sitting in the war tent, with his wounded son, the widowed father of 6, amidst the bloody civil war, and the Christmas bells start ringing in the distance. Makes the words more profound to me.
“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 rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does he sleep (peace on earth, peace on earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men