The Story Behind The Song, pt 12: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
TRACK TWELVE // I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY
The twelfth installment of TSBTS, wherein we give a little glimpse behind either the song or the recording or both for our new album Come Let Us Adore Him. It’s like the 12th day of Christmas. Or something.
Based on the 1864 poem “Christmas Bells” by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow wrote it, while still mourning the horrific accident that resulted in the tragic death of his wife Frances and ruminating on his firstborn Charles’ joining (without Henry’s blessing) of the Union army (and subsequent severe injury, not death as some sources report) in the Civil War.
To give you a better idea of where Longfellow was coming from with the poem, the first Christmas after Frances’ death, he wrote, “How inexpressibly sad are all holidays.”* A year after the incident, he wrote, “I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace.”** In his journal, on Christmas Day 1862, he wrote, “‘A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.” This is very clearly not a weeklong slump or a tough year. This a man struggling with deep and real and relentless feelings of sadness. That we get the last verse is, first, a huge gift to Longfellow himself, having battled through seemingly impenetrably thick bogs and fogs, and somehow coming out into a light that allowed him to pen a peaceful resolution/declaration; and, second, a gift to the rest of us, to know that someone emerged from the darkest of his days with hope.
If nothing else, that is the beauty and crux of this song: hope and its renewal.***
One reason I love this song is its capture of both the sadness that the holidays can seem to bring and the hope that they are intended to bring. There is a tension/pull between the two, just like in real life. Christmastime is not all jingle bells and perfectly packaged presents for everyone. The narrator/singer, at one point, tells us there is no peace on earth. That can certainly be true on both micro and macro levels. Yes, the song resolves and I think it should. There is sadness and despair. But there is also hope, there can be peace.
Maybe that’s why I love the honesty of Ryan Tanner & Brian Hardy (making his official lead vocal debut***)’s singing. They convey the coexistent melancholy and hope, which is no easy task. One of the great things about being in a project with as many musicians as the Lower Lights is that you have your pick of a lot of great folks and can always get the right person for the job. I wouldn’t pick any other two singers. Or Ryan’s piano playing, a sorta bluesy nod to Tom Waits. Or the organ playing****.
More factoids? Go to the last asterisks*****.
What/who you’re hearing
LEAD VOCALS: Ryan Tanner, Brian Hardy
HARMONY VOCAL: Sarah Sample, Dustin Christensen
UPRIGHT PIANO: Ryan Tanner
PEDAL STEEL: Dylan Schorer
UPRIGHT BASS: Ryan Tilby
HAMMOND B3 ORGAN: Paul Jacobsen
CHOIR: Dominic Moore, Patrick Campbell, Darin LeSueur, Mark Smith, Dustin Christensen, Julie Yardley, Brooke White, Nate Pyfer, Sarah Sample, Jordan The Intern, Debra Fotheringham
* Which, to this day, I wouldn’t say is totally inaccurate. For many, unfortunately, the holidays– which a lot of us may see as joy- and family-filled– are sad and lonely.
** Two things: 1) I love that Longfellow used the word “wrapped” (like a present) in his description, and 2) what insight into the line “there is no peace on earth.”
** I think hope and renewal are also why we put so much emphasis on the birth of any child, much less one who would become Jesus Christ.
*** In the words of Arsenio Hall, “Give it up for Brian!” Extra-officially, it should be noted that Brian’s voice has also taken a verse on the Lower Lights’ version of “There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today” (unreleased, so far) and a prominent vocal part of his former band Atherton’s song “Penny Wants To Dance.” Both of which are great songs and one of which you can certainly hear online.
**** Confession: it’s me. And mostly I was just trying not to mess up the song. A tutorial from Brian helped.
***** Like many of the songs we recorded for Come Let Us Adore Him, this poem has been set to various pieces of music. Originally, the most common (with recordings by Elvis, Johnny Cash, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Jimmie Rodgers, and more) was attributed to John Baptiste Calkin. More recently, though, a piece composed by Johnny Marks (who wrote “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and clearly has a grasp on what makes a Christmas song live past its decade) has risen to more prominence, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Pedro The Lion (the version many of us in the band were most worried about landing too close to), and Sarah McLachlan (whose last name I believe you should not be allowed to misspell if she is in your music collection).
Sci-fi author Ray Bradbury in his 1962 novel Something Wicked This Way Comes called this song “immensely moving, overwhelming, no matter what day or what month it was sung.” I’m pretty sure it all goes downhill for the story’s town of Green Town, IL after that, though. Unlike the song, which ends on a hopeful note.
This song was featured on American Songwriter magazine’s Christmas mix. Pretty cool, right?
ONE MORE BLOG POST. I think I can. I think I can.
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