You help make Hymnary.org possible. More than 10 million people from 200+ countries found hymns, liturgical resources and encouragement on Hymnary.org in 2025, including you. Every visit affirms the global impact of this ministry.

If Hymnary has been meaningful to you this year, would you take a moment today to help sustain it? A gift of any size—paired with a note of encouragement if you wish—directly supports the server costs, research work and curation that keep this resource freely available to the world.

Give securely online today, or mail a check to:
Hymnary.org
Calvin University
3201 Burton Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Thank you for your partnership, and may the hope of Advent fill your heart.

Merry Christmas Bells

Representative Text

1 Ring with joy and glad­ness
The merry Christ­mas bell;
Let its tune­ful ec­ho
The sac­red sto­ry tell!
How the lone­ly shep­herds,
Upon the hills at night,
Heard the an­gel mes­sage,
And saw the ho­ly light.
Ring, O ring with glad­ness,
Ye mer­ry Christ­mas bells!
For we love the sto­ry
Thy joy­ous mu­sic tells!

Refrain:
Ring, O ring with glad­ness,
Ye mer­ry Christ­mas bells!
Ring, O ring, with glad­ness,
Ye mer­ry Christ­mas bells!
Ye mer­ry Christ­mas bells!
Ye mer­ry Christ­mas bells!
Christmas bells! Christmas bells!

2 Ring the bells with glad­ness,
But ring them soft­ly now;
See the won­der­ing Ma­gi
Before the man­ger bow;
Where the King of Glory,
The Day­spring from the skies,
Christ, the bless­èd Sav­ior,
A help­less in­fant lies.
Ring, O ring with glad­ness,
Ye mer­ry Christ­mas bells!
For we love the sto­ry
Thy joy­ous mu­sic tells! [Refrain]

3 Ring the bells with glad­ness,
For Je­sus came to save;
He for guil­ty sin­ners
The ran­som free­ly gave;
On this mer­ry Christ­mas,
While joy­ful­ly we sing;
As a hum­ble trib­ute,
Our hearts to Him we bring.
Ring, O ring with glad­ness,
Ye mer­ry Christ­mas bells!
For we love the sto­ry
Thy joy­ous mu­sic tells! [Refrain]

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #16432

Author: Lanta Wilson Smith

(no biographical information available about Lanta Wilson Smith.) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Ring with joy and gladness
Title: Merry Christmas Bells
Author: Lanta Wilson Smith
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Ring, O ring with gladness
Copyright: Public Domain

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #16432
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #16432

Include 1 pre-1979 instance
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.