"I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" 'Christmas Bells"'(aka 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day') is a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1864, and arguably his most famous one at that. It's a festive yet bitter-sweet song of celebration, that would later be adapted as the Christmas carol 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day'. Over the decades, it would also spawn countless other versions in no end of different genres. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was an American poet born in Portland, Maine, whose popular works include 'Paul Revere's Ride' (1861), 'The Song of Hiawatha' (1855), and 'Evangeline' (1847). He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's 'The Divine Comedy' (1320), and was one of the five members of the group known as the Fireside Poets. His first major poetry collections were 'Voices of the Night' (1839), and 'Ballads and Other Poems' (1842). He became the most popular American poet of his day and also had success overseas.