RING THEM BELLS
(Bob Dylan 1989)

As recorded Gordon Lightfoot 1993



Ring them bells ye heathen
From the city that dreams
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries
'Cross the valleys and streams
For they're deep and they're wide
And the world's on it's side
And time is running backwards
And so is the bride.

Ring them bells St. Peter
Where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand
So the people will know
Oh it's rush hour now
On the wheel of the plow
And the sun is a goin' down
Upon the sacred cow.

Ring them bells sweet Martha
For the poor man's son
Ring them bells so the world will know
That God is one
For the shepherd is asleep
Where the willow weep
And the mountains are filled
With lost sheep.

Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells for all of us who are left
Ring them bells for the chosen few
Who will judge the many when the game is through
Ring them bells for the time that flies
For the child who cries
When innocence dies.

Ring them bells St. Catherine
From the top of the roof
Ring them from the fortress
For the lilies that bloom
For the lines are long
And the fighting is strong
And they're breaking down the distance
Between right and wrong.



(Transcribed by David Story - March 2013)