A SOLDIER'S SILENT NIGHT
VERSION 2:
A SOLDIER'S SILENT NIGHT
Source: The Federalist Papers
[Adapted
from the original U.S.M.C. Version]
The original version was written by Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt in 1987 under the title "Merry Christmas, My Friend."
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
HIS FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT AT ALL HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY;
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL
AND BOTH OF US SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every day, members of the military put their lives on the line to help protect our country. While most U.S. citizens sit safely on American soil, our soldiers are out risking their lives in unbearable conditions in Afghanistan. When they return home, they are faced with the challenges of re-acclimating to civilian life. In addition, some have been critically wounded or paralyzed in the line of duty.
Whether it is on the frontlines protecting our country, in pursuit of higher education and job training or enabling them to walk again, SoldierSocks is committed to helping the members of our Armed Forces take their next steps forward.
Learn more about Soldier Socks
"Like" their Facebook page
The original version was written by Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt in 1987 under the title "Merry Christmas, My Friend."
The audio recording of this adapted version was recorded by
Father Ted Berndt and his daughter Ellen Stout. Father Berndt
was a priest at Bread of Life Charismatic Episcopal Church in
Dousman, Wisconsin, a proud Marine, and a WWII Purple Heart recipient.
The poem was recorded
in one take. The recording received a national A.I.R. (Achievement
in Radio) award from the March of Dimes and continues to be
played in radio stations across the country.
Father Berndt passed away March 19th,
2004 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. According
to his daughter, "All he ever
wanted to do was touch lives...to make a difference. We are blessed
to share "A
Soldier's Silent Night" again with you this Christmas."
The poem lyrics are below. If you would
like to download the audio recording as an mp3 file, this is
the link: http://www.tankmastergunner.com/images/silent_night.mp3
(Right click on this link and select "Save Target As..." to copy the file to your computer - it's a large file.)
A Soldier's Silent Night(Right click on this link and select "Save Target As..." to copy the file to your computer - it's a large file.)
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
HIS FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT AT ALL HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY;
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL
AND BOTH OF US SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robotic legs help wounded warriors walk
Every day, members of the military put their lives on the line to help protect our country. While most U.S. citizens sit safely on American soil, our soldiers are out risking their lives in unbearable conditions in Afghanistan. When they return home, they are faced with the challenges of re-acclimating to civilian life. In addition, some have been critically wounded or paralyzed in the line of duty.
Whether it is on the frontlines protecting our country, in pursuit of higher education and job training or enabling them to walk again, SoldierSocks is committed to helping the members of our Armed Forces take their next steps forward.
Learn more about Soldier Socks
"Like" their Facebook page
If everyone contributed just $20.00, just think what an amazing gift you could be giving to our severely wounded veterans.....
Source: My Daily Soapbox
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