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 on its side
And time is running backwards
And so is the bride

Ring them bells, Saint Peter
Where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an ironhand
So the people will know
For it’s rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going 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
Oh, the shepherd is asleep
Where the willows 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 that cries
When the innocence dies

Ring them bells, Saint Catherine, from the top of the room
Ring them from the fortress for the lilies that bloom
Oh, the lines are long and the fighting is strong
And they’re breaking down the distance
Between right and wrong