It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (sometimes rendered as "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear") is a poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, Massachusetts. Sears' lyrics are most commonly set to one of two melodies: "Carol," composed by Richard Storrs Willis, or "Noel," adapted from an English melody.

Contents

History

Edmund Sears composed the five-stanza poem in 1849. It first appeared on December 29, 1849 in the Christian Register in Boston.[1][2] Sears is said to have written these words at the request of his friend, William Parsons Lunt, pastor of United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts.

Melody

In 1850, Richard Storrs Willis, a composer who trained under Felix Mendelssohn, wrote the melody called "Carol." This melody is most often set in the key of B-flat major in a six-eight time signature. "Carol" is the most widely known tune to the song in the United States.[1][3][4][5]

In the United Kingdom the tune called "Noel", which was adapted from an English melody in 1874 by Arthur Sullivan, is the usual accompaniment. This tune also appears as an alternate in The Hymnal 1982, the hymnal of the United States Episcopal Church.[6]

Lyrics

The full song comprises five stanzas. Some versions, including the United Methodist Hymnal[3] and Lutheran Book of Worship,[4] omit stanza three, while others (including The Hymnal 1982) omit verse four.[7] Several variations also exist to Sears' original lyrics.

It came upon a midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,1
From heaven's all-gracious King."
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains,
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessèd angels sing.
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled2
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not3
The love-song which they bring;4
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,5
And hear the angels sing.
And ye, beneath life's crushing load,6
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!
For lo!, the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,7
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold8
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,9
And the whole world give back the song10
Which now the angels sing.

— Original five-stanza hymn

Alternative renderings:

1Peace on the earth, goodwill to all[3][4]
2Beneath the heavenly hymn have rolled[7]
3And warring humankind hears not[7]
4The tidings which they bring[7]
5O hush the noise and cease your strife[7]
6And you, beneath life's crushing load[4]
7By prophets seen of old[3][7]
8Shall come the time foretold[3][7]
9When the new heaven and earth shall own
The prince of Peace their King
10And all the world give back the song[4][7]

Recordings

This song has been included in many of the Christmas albums recorded by numerous singers (and many types of singers) in the modern era. For example, in 1965 Sergio Franchi covered this song in his Billboard Top 40 album The Heart of Christmas (Cuor' Di Natale).[8] And Eric Burdon & The Animals recorded the song to the tune of their hit single THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN. In 2006, a recording of the song by Daryl Hall & John Oates hit number one on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.[9] Kutless also recorded it for WOW Christmas: Green (2005), and Josh Groban in Noël (2007).

References

  1. ^ a b It Came upon the Midnight Drear
  2. ^ http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/e/sears_eh.htm
  3. ^ a b c d e The United Methodist Hymnal, © 1989
  4. ^ a b c d e Lutheran Book of Worship, © 1978
  5. ^ The official Unitarian-Universalist hymnal, "Singing the Living Tradition", © 1993
  6. ^ Raymond F. Glover, ed (1985). The Hymnal 1982. New York City: The Church Hymnal Corporation. pp. Hymn #90. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Raymond F. Glover, ed (1985). The Hymnal 1982. New York City: The Church Hymnal Corporation. pp. Hymn #89. 
  8. ^ http://www.discogs.com Sergio Franchi
  9. ^ "Fred Bronson, Chart Beat, December 21, 2006", billboard.com
Preceded by
"Jingle Bells" by Kimberly Locke		 Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single by
December 30, 2006 - January 6, 2007		 Succeeded by
"What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts