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Christmas in the Trenches Songwriter
Working with Southern Authors
John McCutcheon
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The story of John McCutcheon writing the song “Christmas
in the Trenches” is nearly as interesting as the World
War One event that inspired it. Every songwriter is constantly
on the lookout for the inspiration for that next great song,
but for McCutcheon, finding that spark for his beloved Christmas
song came from a most unusual source.
“I was putting together some songs for a Christmas album
that I was recording for Rounder Records in 1984,” said
McCutcheon. “It was two weeks before I was to go to the
studio and I was playing at a show in Birmingham, Alabama. Something
about the collection of songs wasn’t quite there yet.
“Backstage I met an old black woman and we just started
talking. We were really just telling each other jokes when she
laid this story on me. It was different than the rest of the
stories she had told me. It had this dark edge to it and I just
thought it was a tremendous story. It haunted me.”
During the intermission of the show in Birmingham, McCutcheon
wrote “Christmas in the Trenches.” Although he made
minor changes to it afterward, the entire song came to him between
the sets of that show.
“Every writer has those moments, I think,” said
McCutcheon. “Another writer, a friend of mine, said it
best when he said there are songs that you write and others
that you just write down. This was one of those that just came
through me and all I had to do was write it down.”
Over the years, McCutcheon has learned that his song and the
story was the inspiration for it has had a profound effect on
many people’s lives.
“Almost immediately after its release people began to
contact me with stories about the original Christmas in the
trenches during World War One and other similar tales,”
said McCutcheon. “Once an old German woman stood up in
the audience and told me that her father had been a German soldier
at the event. In 1988 in Denmark I met four very old men who
were involved with the story.
“I have also had a great number of Vietnam veterans tell
me similar stories of contact with the enemy where the humanity
overtook the enmity and both combatants simply walked away.”
McCutcheon, a songwriter living in the Appalachian Mountains
of Virginia, continues to write, tour and record as a professional
musician. A multi-instrumentalist, McCutcheon plays guitar,
autoharp, banjo, hammer dulcimer and fiddle, among others. He
has performed all over the world during the past 30-plus years
and earned five Grammy nominations. During the past several
years he has headlined five festivals in Australia, toured Nicaragua
on behalf of a children’s literacy program, performed in
the first-ever children’s concert on The Nashville Network,
given a featured concert at the AFL/CIO Convention, authored
a second songbook and children’s book, scored four videos,
and been a contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered.
In the spring of 2006 he released the album Mightier Than
The Sword on his own AppalSongs label.
“It’s an album of material with all of the songs
co-written by myself and authors who are better known for their
books,” said McCutcheon.
The project has already been recorded and includes contributions
from authors Lee Smith, Barbara Kingsolver, Rita Dove, Pablo
Naruda, Carmen Agra Deedy and others.
“It’s been a great exercise in writing with people
who know who to weave words together,” said McCutcheon.
“Plus I’ve been able to spend time with writers like
Lee Smith who I really admire.”
Since the 1984 release of “Christmas in the Trenches,”
it has become one of the favorite songs in McCutcheon’s
repertoire and one that his fans insist on hearing, no matter
what time of year it is.
“When I first started singing it, I thought I would only
do it during the holiday season,” said McCutcheon. “My
audience quickly educated me about that. And they’re right,
of course. A season of peace in a world full of war is something
to want at anytime of the year.
“I’m just glad that I had a small part in spreading
that message.”
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