On the Fourth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

As a Doctor Who fan, I'm a bit nervous of angel statues,
but what else could I possibly use for this song?
Image source: alberto cavazzano on freeimages.com.

"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"

By: Edmund Sears

Written in: 1849

I have thoughts: I chose this one for today because today is my grandfather's birthday (he would have been 91). Not that Grandpa particularly liked this song; I don't know how he felt about it. Here's what I do know: there was a made-for-TV movie by the same name that came out in 1984, when I was six. He and I watched it together.

In the movie, a man dies a week before Christmas but protests when he gets to heaven that he needs more time with his grandson, so they give him until Christmas Eve. (That's what I remember. IMDB has more details.) At the end of the movie, the man dies for good, having spent his final week making his grandson's Christmas amazing. Also at the end of the movie, Grandpa and I were both crying.

So this song has made me think of him ever since, even though we never talked about that movie ever again. Isn't it amazing how I manage to make every freaking thing sad? Quick, name a happy thing and I'll see if I can sad it up for you.

Verse: I couldn't choose between verses three and four, so let's do both.

But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love song which they bring; –
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
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; –
Oh, rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing!

Watch:


Sources:
Wikipedia
Hymns and Carols of Christmas