Singing the Living Tradition ‎#58

58. Ring Out, Wild Bells

1 Ring out, wild bells, to the wild, wild sky,
the flying cloud, the frosty light:
the year is dying in the night;
ring out, wild bells, and let it die.

2 Ring out the old, ring in the new,
ring, happy bells, across the snow:
the year is going, let it go;
ring out the false, ring in the true.

3 Ring out the grief that saps the mind
for those that here we see no more;
ring out the feud of rich and poor;
ring in redress to humankind.

4 Ring out false pride in place and blood,
the civic slander and the spite;
ring in the love of truth and right;
ring in the common love of good.

Text Information

• First Line: Ring out, wild bells, to the wild, wild sky
• Title: Ring Out, Wild Bells
• Author: Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1809-1892
• Meter: L.M.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1993
• Topic: Transcending Mystery and Wonder: Winter; The New Year; Peace and War

Tune Information

• Name: GONFALON ROYAL
• Composer: Percy Carter Buck, 1871-1947
• Meter: L.M.
• Key: e minor or modal
• Copyright: © Oxford University Press
• Notes: Now Public Domain