And wild and sweet, the words repeat...

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!

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!"

In recent years I've been rediscovering Christmas songs I've known forever. Rediscovering in the sense that one day I somehow notice the words, listen to them, and the song suddenly becomes even more wonderful than I once thought it was. This year it's "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", which I'd swear I heard for the first time years ago on an episode of Touched by an Angel (YES, Touched by an Angel) and never thereafter heard a version I enjoyed. I spent a good long while searching yesterday and discovered one by Sarah Morgann that, to me, does the song justice.

Brand new songs discovered this year:
"Gabriel's Message" performed by the Choir of Clare College (Oh. So. Beautiful.)
"What Sweeter Music" performed by the Choir of New College Oxford
"I Saw a Fair Maiden" performed by the Cambridge Singers
"Wexford Carol" by Anuna (I knew the song but this version is spectacular!)