Phil Ochs - The Bells Lyrics

I can just imagine we are sitting around a camp fire Late At Night and Phil Ochs Is singing this Song To Everyone

Who's here because Lenich and kirya?

If you thumbed down this this song you don’t understand English or music.

My unofficial and inaccurate lyrics:

Hear the sledges with the bells- silver bells.
What a world of merriment their melody foretells.
As they jingle jingle jingle in the icy air of night.
All the heavens seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight
Keeping time time time with a sort of runic rhyme
With the tintinnabulation which so musically wells
From the bells bells bells bells
The bells bells bells
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells!

Hear the mellow wearing bells- golden bells.
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells.
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight
Through the dances and the yells
And the rapture that impels
How it swells how it dwells
On the future how it tell!
From the swinging and the ringing of the molten golden bells
From the bells bells bells bells
The bells bells bells
From the rhyming and the chiming of the bells.

Hear the loud alarum bells brazen bells!
What a tale of terror now their turbulency tells
Much too horrified to speak
Oh they can only shriek
For all the ears to know how the danger ebbs and flows.
Leaping higher higher higher with a desperate desire
In a glamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire
Of the bells bells bells bells
The bells bells bells
Of the clamor and the clanging of the bells.

Hear the tolling of the bells- iron bells.
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels.
From all the rust that floats from the rust within our throats
And the people sit and groan in their muffled monotone
And who tolling tolling tolling
Feel a glory in the rolling
From the throbbing and the sobbing of the melancholy bells.
From the bells bells bells bells
The bells bells bells
From the moaning and the groaning of the bells.

Hear the sledges with the bells- silver bells.
What a world of merriment their melody foretells.
As they jingle jingle jingle in the icy air of night.
All the heavens seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight
Keeping time time time with a sort of runic rhyme
With the tintinnabulation which so musically wells
From the bells bells bells bells
The bells bells bells
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells!

My more accurate (but still unofficial) lyrics:

Hear the sledges with the bells- silver bells.
What a world of merriment their melody foretells.
As they jingle jingle jingle in the icy air of night.
All the heavens seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight
Keeping time time time with a sort of runic rhyme
From the tintinnabulation which so musically wells
From the bells bells bells bells
Bells bells bells
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells!

Hear the mellow wedding bells- golden bells.
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells.
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight
Through the dances and the yells
And the rapture that impels
How it swells how it dwells
On the future how it tells!
From the swinging and the ringing of the molten golden bells
Of the bells bells bells bells
bells bells bells
Of the rhyming and the chiming of the bells.

Hear the loud alarum bells brazen bells!
What a tale of terror now their turbulency tells
Much too horrified to speak
Oh they can only shriek
For all the ears to know how the danger ebbs and flows.
Leaping higher higher higher with a desperate desire
In a glamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire
With the bells bells bells bells
The bells bells bells
With the clamor and the clanging of the bells.

Hear the tolling of the bells- iron bells.
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels.
For all the sound that floats from the rust within our throats
And the people sit and groan in their muffled monotone
And the tolling tolling tolling
Feel a glory in the rolling
From the throbbing and the sobbing of the melancholy bells.
Of the bells bells bells bells
Bells bells bells
Of the moaning and the groaning of the bells.

Hear the sledges with the bells- silver bells.
What a world of merriment their melody foretells.
As they jingle jingle jingle in the icy air of night.
All the heavens seem to twinkle with a crystalline delight
Keeping time time time with a sort of runic rhyme
From the tintinnabulation which so musically wells
From the bells bells bells bells
Bells bells bells
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells!

Thank you. Beautiful poem, great song. You read the poem and keep seeing the words "The Bells" and you start to hear them in our head.

Yo! If you're still around tell me where to find THIS version of the song. I can't find it anywhere. The only one on Amazon seems to be live or in a somewhat different sound to it. Would really be glad to listen to this while I work.

First album: All the News That's Fit to Sing

This version, I believe is on the Album “All the news that’s fit to sing”. When I was a kid I remember hearing it off of the album called “Chords of Fame” as well. Such a brilliant singer

Is there one of two guitars playing, I can't tell.

It's josh 907 one guitar, strumming and picking

Check out our version of Poe's ELDORADO put to soul music... https://youtu.be/1V0998SBXmk

This would be so much better if he had used the whole poem and kept the overall feeling the same

Wt is tt sg

Wt is tt sg

I'm here as a victim of Evil. However, Phil aways makes me smile against that evil and against that muffled monotone.

Why does this sound slightly different than the no evil one?

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure one of the voice actors sang it themselves in No Evil.

It does sound slightly different, it's probably a different recording.

This is just another recording by Phil Ochs, sometimes artists record multiple versions

TheVoiceOfTruth oh yeah maybe a demo

Sped up a bit?

Is it just me or does it sound like something that Robin Hood would be singing? 😂

The poem is meant to end in death, as all things do. However, he ends it with the beginning: birth and childhood. Some may appreciate the repeat of the first stanza and I don't mind that he used his own interpretation of the poem. But personally, I feel that the repeat ruins the original meaning and purpose of the poem. Through our life we go through many stages and aspects of existence but we always end with the sound of death's somber bells. Nothing that we do would make it possible for us to end with the twinkling of life. However, this is merely my personal interpretation....sorry if I ranted.

catdogcattt i think its more he was trying to keep the upbeat nature of the song
Since the final section (srry im not too good with poem terminology) is a bit darker

Unless you believe in reincarnation, in which case it's perfectly possible.

All things pass away and all becomes new.

I appreciate that. I'm planning a cover of the song and your insight will help with my own interpretation.

I feel like my choir sounds better 😕. It's all girls, for our class 😂

That Cat girl A larger amount of people usually does create a fuller sound. Being able to sing better than 1 man with multiple individuals is no feat.

And are you a boy

Look how young and gorgeous he looks here!!

Yes! 👌🏼

Who's here because of No Evil?

@Sooshii me too

God darn me

and how much was the ones who misdone it. like they sing it so fucked up like...and too poem like instead of a song

I like the poem set to music ...  and I wonder who plays the guitar? The critics said something about Phil playing better if his hand was webbed .... if this is him playing we can put that comment to rest. Nice clean guitar playing and I think it adds to the already great poem.

+Dave Seace Phil strummed chords. The second guitarist, doing all the fancy work was Danny Kalb.

+Cody Gillespie-Lynch - Thanks - Wow just looked him up on Wikipedia. Danny Kalb had an amazing guitar playing history. I'll be checking out his other work.

I heard this song first as sung by the Modern Folk Quartet (MFQ). They took this song and arranged it with their unique 4-part harmony. When you hear it you will be electrified no joke! It is ramped up and sensational, no superlatives do justice. The Bells, written by Edgar A. Poe, set to music by Phil Ochs and further arranged by the Modern Folk Quartet, Jerry Yester, Tad (Henry) Diltz, Cyrus Faryar and Chip (?).
It'll blow you away. This set my standard high for the possibilities of vocal harmony.

One of my very favorites of Phil's. Thanks!

@haruspex54 No Problem

This is so good, but it bugs me how he left out the part about the ghouls.

+hezekial It would have been cool if he could have made it work. He probably had trouble doing that tho.

They are not man nor woman not creature or human they are ghouls.

hezekial The ghouls are demons of course & their king is Satan & this guy is way to upbeat to get that far into what Poe was really saying. This just isn't, at present, a "Cumbaya" world; but it will soon be.

Jerry Shunk  He wasn't that upbeat of a character. Most of his songs dealt with dark subjects ("Crucifixion" in particular was probably his magnum opus), and he spent most of his life in a state of deep depression. I expect he left it out so that it could be extrapolated on by those who know the original work, while it is received as a cheery ballad by those who are not, that they might be inspired to peruse the original work. This is not the only version of this song he recorded, but he chose to leave the verse in question out, each time. I think it has to do with presentation in it's proper place and time. He went on to kill himself, or so they concluded. The rest of the story tells itself, just as someone who is interested in the poem will read it for themselves, the listener can perceive for whom the bell tolls next, regardless.

Or...perhaps, it's a reflection from the perception of the everyday traffic that surrounds such mundane events and circumstances. After all, polite society does not discuss "the people who live up in the steeple" now, nor did they then. As it plays through, it is a street ballad, to be received by anyone, and rejected by none for any of it's qualities. A song you could play on Christmas, from a poem that might not be equally well-received. The undertones and the nature of the subject matter are known to those who have read it before. Otherwise, it is a polite song about what role bells play in society. As poignant today perhaps as when it was conceived. As is the subject matter of the poem.

This doesn't necessarily detract from the work of the author. Instead, it presents the work to new audiences. If they go on to read the poem and reject it then, it isn't because they did not care for it when it was "dumbed down" into a more perfunctory shade of what was to be said.

goood........goooood...

You sir...are amazing O;

+Karen Grajales thanks

I found this song accompanied by a animation on Newgrounds.com  Its an amazing song, and he sings it wonderfully :o)


The song is called And The Raven Brought Fire on 
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/601680

That actually brought me here. That animator is fantastic!

She has a youtube channel "Betsy Lee". Some smart stuff there :).

I got brought here by Betsy lee

+UrbanTarzan Duh
Me too! I LOVE her animation! :3

imma be honest the raven brought fire got me here

The Dillards recorded a song called ANNABELLE LEE in the 1970s and when I bought a copy of the poem at the Poe Museum in Richmond, the words didn't match at all.

This song cut out a lot of lines and moved others to different spots. I was reading the poem while listening to this when I noticed the differences.

No problem, I didn't see a version of this anywhere on Youtube so decided to. :)

No problem, I didn't see a version of this anywhere on Youtube so decided to. :)

He takes out some parts.

No problem, I didn't see a version of this anywhere on Youtube so decided to. :)

brilliant adaptation of the poe poem to music

It's quite a lovely song. Thank you for uploading it!

it's just a shortened version of the poem

I wonder what version he sings, because the version I have in my Edgar Allen Poe book is very different.

Thank you for uploading this.

i like this song.