Wow... 'Christmas In The Trenches ' - A Folk Song By John McCutcheon On War (WWI)

[WillyT]

Christmas in The Trenches
Words & Music by John McCutcheon
c. 1984 John McCutcheon / Appalsong

This song is based on a true story from the front lines of World War I France that I've heard many times. According to a recent source, Ian Calhoun, a Scot, was the commanding officer of the British forces involved in the story. He was subsequently court-martialed for 'consorting with the enemy' and sentenced to death. Only George V spared him from that fate.
-- John McCutcheon

My name is Francis Toliver, I come from Liverpool.
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school.
To Belgium and to Flanders, to Germany to here
I fought for King and country I love dear.

'Twas Christmas in the trenches, where the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were still, no Christmas song was sung.
Our families back in England were toasting us that day
Their brave and glorious lads so far away.

I was lying with my messmate on the cold an rocky ground
When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound.
Says I, "Now listen up, me boys!" each soldier strained to hear
As one young German voice sang out so clear.

"He's singing bloody well, you know!" my partner says to me.
Soon, one by one, each German voice joined in harmony.
The cannons rested silent, the gas clouds rolled no more
As Christmas brought us respite from the war.

As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent
"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" struck up some lads from Kent.
The next they sang was "Stille Nacht," "'Tis 'Silent Night,'" says I
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky.

"There's someone coming towards us!" the front line sentry cried.
All sights were fixed on one lone figure trudging from their side.
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shone on that plain so bright
As he, bravely, strode unarmed into the night.

Soon one by one on either side walked into NO Man's Land
With neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand.
We shared some secret brandy and wished each other well
And in a flare lit soccer game we gave 'em hell.

We traded chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home.
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own.
Young Sanders played his squeezebox and they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men.

Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more
With sad farewells we each prepared to settle back to war
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night
"Whose family have I fixed within my sights?"

'Twas Christmas in the trenches where the frost, so bitter hung.
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung.
For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war
Had been crumbled and were gone forevermore.

My name is Francis Toliver, in Liverpool I dwell,
Each Christmas come since World War I, I've learned its lessons well,
That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we're the same.

Link: http://www.quaker.org/chestnuthill/xmastrench.htm

:cry:

[senseandsensibility]

1. This song always make my

hubby cry, too. Thanks for posting. Does anyone have a link to the music (audio)? You're probably a liberal if..... you like this song.:)

[WillyT]

2. Here's Another...

Not in My Name
Words & music by John McCutcheon

You see the plane in the distance
You see the flame in the sky
See the young ones running for cover
See the old ones wondering why
They tell us that the world is a dangerous place
We live in a terrible time
But in Hiroshima, New York or in Baghdad
It’s the innocent who die for the crime

Chorus

Not in my name
Not in my name
Not in my name
Not in my name

The witnesses watch through the window
Their hearts locked in horror and pain
At the man lying strapped to a gurney
As the poison is pumped through his veins
And I’m wondering who are the prisoners
Who holds the lock and the key
Who holds the power over life, over death
When will we finally be free? Chorus

Bridge

We stray and we stumble in seeking the truth
And wonder why it’s so hard to find
But an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
Leaves the whole world toothless and blind

Through the ages I have watched all your holy wars
Your jihads, your Crusades
I have been used as inspiration, I’ve been used as an excuse
For the murder and the misery you’ve made
I thought I made it clear in the Bible
In the Torah and in the Koran
What is it in my teaching about loving your enemies
That you people don’t understand?

:shrug:

[TomInTib]

3. If I do say so, myself...

I do a killer version (actually, McCutcheon's version) of this beautiful song.

And it never fails to reduce me to tears.

[earthlover]

4. John McCutcheon is the real thing....if you ever have a chance...see him sing!!!

[WillyT]

5. Damn... Nothing On The West Coast So Far

Link: http://www.folkmusic.com/f_concert.htm

But I'll keep looking!

And thanks!

:hi:

[redwitch]

6. I hugged him once.

He is a wonderful man! I went to see him and hear him sing "Not in My Name" Here's some more lyrics for you:

One in a Million

I remember that August
1963
A half million gathered
On our small TV
The moment was magic
With dreams in the air
My Mom watched in wonder
And said, “I wish I was there”

But there were babies to diaper
And a whole house to clean
So she watched the world change
On that black-and-white screen

She was one in a million
Who did her small part
And she carried that banner
Held high in her heart

She taught me the Bible
Each chapter and verse
How the meek shall inherit
And the last shall be first
She said, “God leaves God’s work
“To me and to you
“When you’re meek and you’re ready
“What will you do?”

Though she seldom traveled
Far from her front door
She watched the world change
In the children she bore

You are one in a million
You each have a part
Always carry that banner
Held high in your heart

Bridge

Those children now scattered
Like ships on the sea
Mounting adventures
That she’d never see
I never once doubted
What she said was true
I saw miracles mounting
And small victories counting
And it’s all worth recounting
This work that we do

Each Mother’s Day sadly
I look to the chair
Now fifteen years empty
And wish she were there
So this year I traveled
As her eldest son
To a Washington March
Just as she would have done

I marched for the future
In a million mom sea
I was marching for her
I was marching for me

I was one in a million
Just doing my part
And I carried her banner
Held high in my heart

[WillyT]

8. That Made Me Cry Too

Thanks

:hi:

[redwitch]

9. He does know how to tug on the ole heart strings!

In a good way! :hi:

[Irishonly]

7. The Book Is Called Silent Night

Stanley Weintraub wrote it.

[redwitch]

10. Have you read "The Killer Angels"? Novel about the American civil war

Although there was nothing civil about it, come to think of it. The idea that these men (many of the officers) went on the battlefield to slaughter each other had gone to school together, knew each others families, in fact, loved each other as brothers. If that can't stop the slaughter I fear that war may be too ingrained in the human race to ever end entirely. So sad. This world has so much tragedy that is accidental, we really didn't need to add war to the mix.

[Irishonly]

12. I Will Certainly Read It

Thanks. I think it's probably a sobering read. I will never understand war.

[redwitch]

13. it is a really good book.

I'd say "enjoy" but, well...

[earthlover]

11. One of my favorites....

Words & music by John McCutcheon

From Us appears on John's recording Storied Ground. It is also available for download in MP3 format here.

There are bombs in Yugoslavia
Tests in Pakistan
Standoffs in Korea
And missiles in Iran
Guns in Guatemala
Tanks in Lebanon
Artillery in Africa
Where do they all come from?

They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us

In a school in Pennsylvania
In a school in Arkansas
In a school in Kentucky
In cities large and small
In a school in California
In a school in Oregon
Where do they get the violence?
Where do they get the guns?

They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us
They get ‘em from us

A gun killed Medgar Evers
A gun killed JFK
A gun killed Martin Luther King
And hundreds every day
A gun killed Robert Kennedy
A gun killed Gandhi, too
A gun killed kids in Colorado
What are you gonna do?

Are you gonna…

Wait until the tragedy
Comes knocking on your door
Wait until your children
Are the ones upon the floor
Watch while our leaders
Just heap fuel upon the flame
Watch while war and violence
Just breed more of the same

How long will the many
Be held hostage by the few?
How long will the future
Reach its waiting hand to you?
For the seed is in the bullet
And the seed is in the heart
If things are ever gonna change
Where are we gonna start?

They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us
They’ve got to get it from us

There are bombs in Yugoslavia
Guns in a school in Colorado
There are bombs in Yugoslavia
Guns in a school in Colorado
They get it from us

St. Paul, MN, April 1999
©1999 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)