Ring Merrily!

Ring mer­ri­ly! Ring mer­ri­ly!

O hap­py Christ­mas bells;

And let us hear again the tales

Your mu­sic ev­er tells

[re­peat]

How Christ­ian men in oth­er days

Made feast with­in their halls

Hung mis­tle­toe and hol­ly wreaths

Around their old oak walls;

How rich and poor knelt side by side

At call of Christ­mas chimes;

And how the bonds of Christ­ian love

Bound up the good old times.

Ring ten­der­ly! Ring ten­der­ly!

O ho­ly Christ­mas bells:

For ev­er with your earth­ly peal

A heav’n­ly chor­us swells

[re­peat]

The ang­els

who were first to bring

The wel­come news to men

Still join with us to ce­le­brate

The Sav­ior’s birth again;

And some whom we have loved and lost

Sing car­ols with us now

With all the old love in their hearts

And new light on their brow.

Ring joy­ous­ly! Ring joy­ous­ly!

O bless­èd Christ­mas bells;

And show us of the fu­ture good

Your wel­come chime fore­tells

[re­peat]

We know ’twill be a min­gled lot

Of plea­sure

pain and strife;

That thorns will clus­ter round the flow­ers

Along our path of life;

But ye shall sing to us of hope;

Of help

of love un­told;

Reminding us of that bright star

That tips our clouds with gold.

Ring mer­ri­ly! Ring mer­ri­ly!

O dear old Christ­mas bells

And bring all holy bless­ings down

From where all mer­cy dwells. [re­peat]

Ring out your gen­tle mes­sag­es

As ye have done of old

To help the wea­ry and the sad

The weak­lings of the fold;

And tell again the cheer­ing tale

Of Him who bore our woe;

And gave His own heart’s life and love

For break­ing hearts be­low.