The refrain "peace on earth, good will to men" is a reference to the King James Version of Luke 2:14, in which angels herald the birth of Christ.
[6] Longfellow opens the seven-quatrain poem with a stanza expressing optimism before quickly falling into the pessimistic mood reflecting the nation during the Civil War.
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!
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."
The English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, used the poem in a processional accompanied with a melody "Waltham" that he previously used as early as 1848.
[10] Other melodies have been composed more recently, most notably in 1956 by Johnny Marks (arranged by Lee Kjelson and Margaret Shelley Vance).
Variety wrote "Bing Crosby's workover of 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day' looks like a big one for the '56 Yule and a hit potential of enduring value.
In chapter five of his 1962 novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury describes this carol as "immensely moving, overwhelming, no matter what day or what month it was sung."
I Heard the Bells from Sight & Sound Films was released in 2022 and depicts the events surrounding Longfellow's writing of the poem.