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."