Horror of combat, and tumult and dread;
Thunder of cannon and bursting of bomb;
Moans of the wounded ( who envy the dead )
Lost in the clamor of trumpet and drum.
O where is the song of the angels?
O when shall we hear it again?
“Peace on earth,” rang the chorus seraphic,
“And good will evermore among men.”
Here is fierce anger and hatred and death,
Pitiless slaughter of pitiless foe;
Blessings and curses poured forth in a breath;
Brave self-forgetting, and measureless woe.
But where is the song of the angels?
O when shall we hear it again?
“Peace on earth,” rang the chorus seraphic,
“And good will evermore among men.”
Blue waves of ocean are reddened with gore,
Victor and victim earth holds to her breast;
Hearts that will thrill with ambition no more;
Heads that so lately fond mothers caressed.
O where is the song of the angels?
O when shall we hear it again?
“Peace on earth,” rang the chorus seraphic,
“And good will evermore among men.”
Victory, purchased at infinite cost,
Honors and titles so fearfully won,
Fame, at the price of lives blighted and lost,
Graves, all unnoted, unnumbered, unknown.
O where is the song of the angels?
Dear Christ, let us hear it again;
“Peace on earth,” send the chorus seraphic,
“Peace on earth, and good will among men.”