About I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day#
The words began as a poem, “Christmas Bells,” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1863. He wrote in a dark year, with the country at war and his own family struck by grief, and the lines move from despair to the sound of Christmas bells insisting that peace is not dead. The tune most singers use was added later by John Baptiste Calkin.
On a 6-hole ocarina the melody spans nearly an octave, from a low D sharp up to a high D. It opens in the lower register, so give those first notes enough breath to speak clearly before the line rises.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Lyrics#
I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play, And mild and sweet their songs repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Ocarina Tab#
| D#I | Gheard | F#the | Gbells | Gon | G#christ | G-mas | G#day |
| ATheir | A#old | Bfa | D-mil | C-iar | Ccar | A#-ols | A#play |
| A#And | A#mild | G#and | Gsweet | G#their | Gsongs | Fre | D#-peat |
| FOf | Gpeace | G#on | A#earth | Cgood | Dwill | Fto | D#men |