Christmas 1914 – Truce Song was composed by talented Catherine Rushton in 2004. Ten years later she published this soulful, folk song online at a friend’s request. It has almost 13 000 views now.
Through blog posts or books, war and dogs are a constant presence on my blog. My thoughts seem to gravitate towards them. Since yesterday we made our first Christmas decorations for this year, Noel was on my mind and so it happened that I discovered this musical gem on YouTube: a Christmas war song – how else?
To help UK veterans suffering from PTSD, Catherine donated the WW1 Christmas Truce Song to Combat Stress for Veteran’s Mental Health. You can visit Catherine’s fundraising page here.
Here are the lyrics and guitar chords for Christmas 1914 Truce Song by Catherine Rushton
G ………………………………………………. C ………………. G
I am Private Angus Turnbull of the Highland Infantry.
……. C ……………….. G …………. D7
In Flanders field I fought the Hun.
………. G …… D7 ….. C …………….. G
And there I fell, but I’ve a tale to tell
………………………….. D7 ……………….. G C G
Of the Christmas I witnessed at the front.
‘Twas early Christmas morning when we heard the strangest sound
As silence crept through no-man’s land,
And the next we knew a German gunner crew
Had crossed the halfway line to shake our hands.
D7 ……………………………………… C …………… G
We were enemies one day and brothers the next.
……………….. D7 ……………….. C ……………………… G
We shared photographs and beer and schnapps, jokes and cigarettes.
…………. Em ……………… Am ………D7 ……….. C
‘Twas a sight I wish all mankind could have seen,
………… G ……….. D7 …………… G C G
That Christmas, nineteen fourteen.
For three days we played football, three nights we drank and sang
‘Til it came time to say farewell.
Then we went to ground; each side fired three rounds
And just like that we all were back in hell.
….. And we showed the world that peace was not a dream ….
Two weeks later I was buried while the war ran on and on
‘Til thirty million lost their lives,
But don’t weep for me beneath this poppy field
For I saw paradise before I died.
…. And I came to understand what Christmas means …
G
Stille Nacht, heilige nacht
Am …….. D …. G
Alles schlaft, einsam wacht
C ……………………….. G
Nur das traute hochheilige paar
C ……………………. G
Holder knabe im lockigen haar
Am ……… D ………….. G
Schlaf in himmlicher ruh!
G ………… D ………….. G
Schlaf in himmlicher ruh!
I hope you enjoyed listening to the hauntingly beautiful WW1 Christmas 1914 Truce Song by Catherine Rushton.
During the WW1, in the winter of 1914m a Christmas Day football truce game between Germans and the British was won 2-1 by Germans. It was started by a soccer ball kicked from a British trench and ended by two German snipers.
Christmas Truce, Weihnachtsfrieden, Trêve de Noël, took place during 24-25 December 1914: British, French & German crossed the trenches to exchange greetings and play soccer.
If you d wonder, no Christmas Truce took place during WW2 although a German woman, Elisabeth Vincken, sheltered and fed three US soldiers and four German ones, all lost and hungry. Nearby the Battle of the Bulge was taking place. It was Christmas Eve, Heiligabend 1944.
Whatever you do this Festive Holiday, however you choose to celebrate it, do spare a thought for those who fell during the countless wars we put behind us, be it in historical locations or not, or are still taking place.
Song lyrics and movie clip are property and copyright of their owners and are provided for educational purposes and personal use only.
The #MusicMonday meme was created by Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek. You can pick a song that you really like and share it on Monday. I thoroughly enjoyed this blog feature on Mischenko’s lovely blog, ReadRantRockandroll .
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
2020 Update 🙂
Goodness, lovely Catherine Rushton sent me a message on Facebook:
“Hi Patricia, someone just brought to my attention a link to a blog you write last year about my song, Christmas 1914. I wanted to send my sincere thanks not only for writing it but especially for linking to my fundraising page. That was extremely generous of you.”
Catherine Rushton
My grandfather was in the reserves and was called up at the outbreak of war and served from 1914 through to November 2nd 1918 when he was killed in one of the last battles. I only have third hand information via my mother and her discussions with my grandmother, and the general opinion was.. if we can get on together over Christmas why do we have to go back to killing each other two days later! a tragedy. Terrific post Pat.. thank you.. hugs
I am sorry to hear about your Grandfather’s tragic loss, Sally. You are right, if peace happens, why go back to fighting – perhaps politicians should be forced to fight their own wars for a change and leave innocent people live in peace.
I am with you on that Pat…all the way. Usually old men trying to hang on to their alleged power..xx
True, true. And power misunderstood.