"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (sometimes rendered as "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear") is an 1849 poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, Massachusetts. In 1850, Sears' lyrics were set to "Carol", a tune written for the poem the same year at his request, by Richard Storrs Willis. It was originally performed by Canadian artist Anne Murray.
This song is featured in various Disney music media, including Disney's Christmas Lullaby Album.
Lyrics[]
It came upon a midnight clear
That glorious song of old
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From Heaven's All-Gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing
Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing
For lo! the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing