Christmas Stories To Be Shared By The Fire: It Came Upon The Midnight Clear by Edmund Sears and Richard Storrs Willis, Performed by Bruce Cockburn

The best of our humanity often comes to the fore during the holiday season. It is a time of personal connection *(which you can read about here), love of family and being together with those you love most on Christmas Day *(which you can read about here), as well as the selflessness of putting the needs of others before those of your own *(which you can read about here). But one of the highest, most universal of ideals espoused during the holidays is the wish for peace on earth, good will to men. If you were to head out in search of holiday greeting cards to send, one of the most popular designs features a white dove and the words “Peace on Earth”. That desire for peace and all of the tranquility that comes with it is one of the fundamental building blocks of life and yet, it remains such an elusive experience for so many in all parts of our world. In 1849, this very lack of peace and safety and love in a world of seeming abundance troubled the soul of a Unitarian minister named Edmund Sears. It caused him to take ink to paper and write a poem that became known as “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear”. In that poem you can find the original phrasing of “Peace on Earth, good will to men” upon which so much of our modern holiday wishes are based.

Edmund Sears was a man who set forth in the 1830s and 40s on his life’s work which was ministering to the needs of the members of his congregation in Massachusetts. The United States had formed as an official country a little over half a century prior. The dawn of that nation was heralded as being a tremendous opportunity to create a new world, distinct and separate from that of England and Europe. The promise of peace and prosperity lay at the foundation of that declaration of independence. However, as is often the case with newly formed democracies, there were serious growing pains that came to the fore. Among those were the issues of slavery and of territorial expansion. Both of these issues caused enough division and strife that the concept of peaceful coexistence took a back seat to the desire for war. Westward territorial ambitions took the form of armed conflict with the Indigenous nations that had lived peacefully on the plains forever and a day. Southward territorial ambitions put the new American nation squarely into conflict with Mexico regarding the annexation of lands that became Texas and California.  As if those conflicts weren’t already enough, resentments were brewing among the southern states, where slavery was viewed as not just being legal but being an important element of the growing economies of the region. While the Civil War had not yet happened when Edmund Sears wrote “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear”, it was not far off on the horizon. So instead of the building blocks of peace being used to create a better life for all, the instability that comes with war filled Edmund Sears’ heart with dread. At one point, after he had been placed in charge of a newer, larger congregation at the historically significant Bullfinch Church in Lowell, Massachusetts, Sears actually suffered a nervous breakdown. His heart heavy and his mind disillusioned, he retreated to a much smaller church in a tinier village. Away from the din and the clamour, he sought out the company of like-minded pastors. The counsel he received from them was to engage in some reflective therapy. One of the strategies he was encouraged to try was to write his feelings out on paper as if he were providing counsel of his own for a concerned parishioner. Thus in 1849, just as the Mexican-American War had ended over the annexation of Texas, Sears wrote about what lay deep inside of his heart and mind. He wrote a poetic lament that he entitled “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear”. 

When “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear” was first shared in public, it was done so as a poetry reading. It wasn’t until another full year had passed that a man named Richard Storrs Willis was approached with the task of creating a musical score to accompany this poem thus, turning the poem into a song. Richard Storrs Willis was impressed with the emotions put forth by Sears. He felt that, while the content of the poem was not centred explicitly on the story of Christmas it, nonetheless, contained a message that directly touched upon the very spirit of the day itself. Thus Richard Storrs Willis created a piece of instrumental music that was simply called “Carol”. The pairing of that music with Edmund Sears words, now referred to as lyrics, gave rise to the creation of a carol that served as one of the very first pro-peace, anti-war songs ever written in America. The elegance of Sears’ descriptions of the importance of peace, combined with the simple beauty of Storrs Willis’ music has resulted in a carol that has stood the test of time for almost one hundred and seventy five years now and counting.

Many performers have recorded versions of this carol in the years that have followed its creation. While there are numerous excellent renditions available for your listening pleasure, one of my own favourites is by Canadian folk singer Bruce Cockburn. Mr. Cockburn grew up in Ottawa and experienced a childhood rooted in spirituality and faith. He was particularly enamoured with the spirit of generosity and compassion that he felt existed during the holiday season. Thus, even as his career as a Christian singer and then a folk singer became increasingly successful, Cockburn always believed in his heart that one day he would record a Christmas album of his own. But being so busy, there just never seemed to be the time or the emotional and creative space in his head and his heart to make this dream come true. Then, after two decades of continuous writing, recording and touring in support of new albums, Bruce Cockburn felt the need to reflect and recharge. He took a full year off from the grind of being a well known performer. Not unlike Edmund Sears, Cockburn retreated from the brighter lights of the bigger cities, moving to a horse farm north of Toronto. Once there, he spent his days riding horses and reconnecting with the land in a way that rekindled his sense of spirituality and wonder at being alive in a place as beautiful and rooted as his farm. Cockburn felt the tranquility of his farm deep within his heart. He became calmer, more at peace. In this relaxed state, Bruce Cockburn felt the call of his faith. He decided that there would never be a better time to work on a Christmas album than right then and there. So in 1993, Bruce Cockburn released one of my very favourite Christmas albums of all time and simply named it Christmas.  The songs that make up Cockburn’s Christmas album were all carols and/or songs that featured spirituality and faith as their foundation. He specifically avoided recording any songs of a secular nature because he felt the commercialization of Christmas was at odds with the very nature of the day itself and, as such, it would be wrong to promote that. Thus, all of the songs on Christmas are either rarities such as “Early On One Christmas Morn” by Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon and the Cottontop Mountain Sanctified Singers or else they are classic carols such as “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear” by Edmund Sears and Richard Storrs Willis. Cockburn has stated that one of the things that drew him to “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear”, aside from the beauty of the music and the poetry of the lyrics, was its anti-war message. In the long tradition of folk singers before him such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Bruce Cockburn is as anti-war as they come. His catalogue is replete with numerous songs that rail against the horrors and injustice of war. “If I had a Rocket Launcher” being one of the more famous of those tunes. *(You can read more about that song here).

What is it about the human condition that perpetuates the bloodlust that brings so many to desire conflict over peace, greed over empathy, cruelty over compassion, hatred over love? The history of human civilization is littered with examples of the strength and durability of love and kindness being constantly put to the test. And for what? Trinkets and baubles and fleeting moments of power? Not unlike Edmund Sears in 1849 and Bruce Cockburn in 1993, I also lament the state of the world. Although it is difficult at times like these to maintain one’s faith in humanity, it is essential to do so. The surest way for evil and hatred to triumph is for those who champion love and peace to give up hope. During this specific holiday season, I encourage all of you reading these words to promote, as your own personal mantra, the ideals of peace and love. Don’t build that fortress around your heart. Let the love your heart holds pour forth all over the ground. We need to keep sowing the seeds of love, even in times of hardship that are surely to come. It won’t be easy to do when the times grow darkest but there is no higher calling than being a bearer of the light. 

I will close by offering you a chance to listen to one of my favourite audio clips. It is the sound of WWI ending and peace returning to the land. This clip is one that usually is played on or near Remembrance Day in Canada. Let the guns fall silent. Let the chirping of the bird herald the arrival of peace. Let there be peace on earth and goodwill to all of you. You can listen to the arrival of peace here.

The link to the video for the song “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear” by Edmund Sears and Richard Storrs Willis, as performed by Bruce Cockburn can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here….note: there are no Bruce Cockburn lyric videos out there so this link contains an Anne Murray rendition. Enjoy.

The link to the official website for Bruce Cockburn can be found here.

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