Christmas in the Trenches - written and performed by John McCutcheon

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Christmas in the Trenches - John McCutcheon

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon

My name is Francis Tolliver, 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 and 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 toward us!" the front line sentry cried
All sights were fixed on one long figure trudging from their side
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shown 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 we 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 wonderous 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 Tolliver, 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

© 1984 John McCutcheon - All rights reserved

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[moffa18]

sounds a lot like Stan Rogers... I like!!

[FolkFaves]

Great point! I love Stan Rogers & Archie Fisher music.

John McCutcheon is am amazingly diverse musician too...

[Clarice Minefee]

Thats my uncle John I"m so proud of him

[FolkFaves]

Very cool!

Too bad he is a Johnny! *L* I am a Concordia Cobber *wink* Keeping it in the Minnesota intercollegiate Athletic Conference at least..

Then again, that's part of the point of the song - our similarities far outweigh our differences in things that truly matter. I am the child of a mixed marriage couple - Irish Catholic & Norwegian Lutheran, so I was raised to have tolerance for others views!

PS - I still pull for the Johnnies when they are the only MIAC team left in the playoffs!

[mountnhome]

I have always loved this tune! What a beautiful piece of writing.

[FolkFaves]

Thanks for the comments!

Yes, I can't think of a song that encapsulates an event more effectively than this... John is an amazing musician (check out some of the others that have been posted) and not just guitar & voice.... "Leviathan" on the Hammered dulcimer is sublime.

John's homepage is linked under "more info" at the top right...

[koirasdad]

Very few songs can move me to tears. This is one of them. Just a beautiful, beautiful tune. Thank you so much for posting!!

[TheTMP]

Wonderful song about a terrible time in a horrible war, many wars have come and gone since that Christmas in the trenches and we seem to have yet to learn the lesson so skillfully stated in simple words of this tune.

[TreScotts1Fan]

This should have a lot more views than it does.

[Dana Krempels]

This song makes me cry every time.

Aw, John. When you first sang this for us, you were cleanshaven and all fluffy-headed on stage at the Unitarian Church.  We're growing old together. :) Good company.

[michael murtagh]

THANK YOU FOR SHARING. ON A PAR WITH DEC 1915 - TOMMY FLEMING VERSION

[Music4Mel97]

"On each end of the rifle, we're the same." Some of the best words I have heard. Merry Christmas, and may peace be with you.

[Cat Randall]

Beautiful... thank you

Merry Christmas!

[Murphy98112]

It's in the description - click "Show More"

[harvey1954]

McCartney used this same incident for one of his videos, although his song wasn't as good as this one.

[TreScotts1Fan]

Crying like hell, just heard this on the radio. True story.

[Tim Thompson]

I cried the first time I heard this, the last line says it all

[brick123zw]

Such a happy and yet sad song... it plays with your emotions so much...