Rob Lutes is a folk and blues musician from Montreal who, in addition to having nine albums under his own name, records with Michael Emenau in the band Sussex, named for a town on the Kennebecasis River, about 45 minutes away from where Lutes and Emenau grew up in New Brunswick. The band’s latest album “Shine” was released in September (Lucky Bear Records, 2024). Lutes also finds time to tour and record with guitarist Rob MacDonald as Rob & Rob.
It’s in his storyteller guise that Rob Lutes comes to entertain us here with ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’ preceded by some historical perspective on the well-known Christmas carol. This is yet another tool in his box of musical accomplishments, a series he calls “The Stories Behind the Songs: A Journey through the History of American Popular Music.” He offers the series to groups either online or in person. Watch the accompanying video as Lutes weaves the tale of the midnight clear and then performs a solo version on acoustic guitar recorded at his home studio.
The “It” Factor
What is the “it” in ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear?’ The title of the song is only mentioned once, in the first line of the first stanza, followed by that glorious song of old. You’d assume “it” refers to the glorious song of old. But does it? Could “it” be the baby Jesus? Or is “it” a narrative device, for example “It so happened that on this clear night …”
We must conclude the angels are the ones singing accompanied by the music of harps. From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of gold. Unfortunately, there appears nothing about harps being played in the Gospels. This is what the shepherds out in the field saw on that clear night. First, the head angel shared the news of a Savior, which is Christ the Lord who will be arriving shortly. Then, in the account from the Gospel of Luke, Verses 13-14: “Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Still, no harps, trumpets or any other musical instruments, in fact, no singing either. God has sent peace and good will and didn’t find it necessary to dress it up with a singing messenger.
The fourth stanza of the song looks at the events from the perspective of those on the ground.
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!
It’s obvious things were not going well at the time in Bethlehem, the biblical account probably exacerbated by the mental health of the song’s composer, Pastor Edmund Sears, by all descriptions a workaholic who had been suffering from a breakdown. In 1849 when Sears composed the song, the war with Mexico was over but there was still unrest in the country that would culminate a decade later with the Civil War.
It is no stretch to assume Sears was alluding to the strife in the country and the world when he penned the third stanza.
But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
There’s no question that in the final stanza Sears is looking forward to the day when wars are over, in essence the second coming of Christ when his reign will bring peace and goodwill to all men on earth. Nearly 200 years later, we are still hoping that a time of peace on earth will eventually arrive and take hold.
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Interested in finding out more about Rob Lutes and his “Stories Behind the Songs?” He has been offering sessions on the history of popular music (back to the 1700s and through to the 1950s) for several years. This series will be offered online starting in January, 2025. It’s a fun hang online when it’s cold outside. Maybe a gift for the music fan in your life.
You can also learn a lot more about Rob Lutes in this Q & A interview posted earlier this year in AUK.
