Monica Grabin: Song Lyrics & Clips
The Bells of Hell notes & lyrics
When I was in high school, I took AP world history. I had a young teacher who, when starting the unit on World War I, brought in a recording of songs. The juxtaposition of songs like "Over There" with this one was very striking to me, and I never forgot it. In fact, World War I was the only thing I remember from that course, and one of the main reasons I originally was inspired to use music to teach history. I remembered how important that one exposure had been and imagined how powerful it could be to really exploit the emotion of music with the supposed dullness of history. Thank you, Mr. Warren, wherever you are. And I still love this song.
The bells of Hell go ding-a-ling-a-ling,
For you but not for me,
For me the angels sing-a-ling-a-ling,
They’ve got the goods on me.
Oh Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling,
Or grave thy victory?
The bells of Hell go ding-a-ling-a-ling,
For you but not for me.
The bells of Hell go ding-a-ling-a-ling,
For you but not for me,
And all the little devils how they sing-a-ling-a-ling,
For you but not for me.
Oh Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling,
Or grave thy victory?
The bells of Hell go ding-a-ling-a-ling,
For you but not for me.