RING THE BELL
(Jimmy Van Heusen (m) Johnny Burke (l) )

as recorded by Lena Horne
with Lennie Hayton & his Orchestra
1958/9


I got up late this mornin',
The future had no charm,
I noticed my alarm clock wasn't wound.
The door bell and the phone were disconnected,
And people I expected weren't around,
So I said to myself "Where's the reason?",
Then I lokked at myself and said, "There's the reason!
A song doesn't sing by itself!
A bell doesn't ring by itself!".

Ring the bell,
It's a glorious sound,
People gather around
And start to cheer,
And the cheers start to swell!
Don't hide your head in a trough,
Just look up and haul off
And ring the bell!

Dreams that dwell
In the back of your eyes,
They'll materialise
If you get up and get out of your shell!
You can't depend upon fate
Or your height or your weight
To ring the bell!

There's a grindstone for your nose,
There's a treetop for your toes;
Don't stay home and decompose,
Just get out, get goin' where a go-getter goes!

Who can tell
If you've missed a few meals?
If you're down at the heels,
Put on a well-to-do smile,
You'll do well!
When it's a crime to get up,
That's the time to get up
And ring the bell!

And it's like I always say,
Don't do anything halfway!
There'a a time for work and play,
Don't put off for tomorrow
What you could do today!

Ring the bell,
Be the earliest bird,
Why it's simply absurd
How much a wideawake look
Can compel!
When it's a crime to get up,
That's the time to get up,
You've got to climb to get up
And ring and ring the bell!



(Transcribed by Peter Akers - May 2015)