Ring Them Bells (1989) – Bob Dylan

When I listened to Ring Them Bells growing up it cast me into visions of an Amish existence akin to that portrayed in the Peter Weir movie Witness. You know: fortress, bells, plows, cows, iron, valleys, willow and lilies. I believe I got my game name ‘SacredCow‘ from this song, although some read it ‘scaredcow‘. I always wondered if that was done in jest or not. To quote Dylan from Not Dark Yet: ‘Why should I even care‘?
Ring Them Bells solders the modern to the ancient: ‘Ring them bells, ye heathen / From the city that dreams and Oh, it’s rush hour now / On the wheel and the plow.

When it’s all said and done, Ring Them Bells is a contemporary spiritual masterpiece. Bob Dylan never left gospel. It’s actually within him. It displays the poetic depth and spiritual fervor that has come to define much of his later work. It’s just so darn underappreciated even in Dylan fan circles because it comes from that …. wait for it….drum rolling….maligned Dylan 80’s decade. Give me a break. Its symbolic use of bells, which represent various calls to consciousness, spiritual awakening and communal responsibility is other worldly.

And here’s some cool trivia… Bruce Springsteen, in an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2020, cited Ring Them Bells as one of his three favourite Dylan songs (along with Like a Rolling Stone and Visions of Johanna).

Bob Dylan released Ring Them Bells in 1989 as part of his critically acclaimed album Oh Mercy and it’s the third song so far to feature here from it after the previous entry Most of the Time. The recording of Oh Mercy took place in New Orleans with producer Daniel Lanois, whose atmospheric production style added a haunting, almost mystical quality to the album. Lanois, known for his work with U2 and Peter Gabriel, helped craft a sonic landscape that perfectly complemented Dylan’s vision. Reflecting on the album, Dylan mentioned, “I wanted to make a record that was more for the present time, more relevant to the state of the world.” (Bob Dylan: Chronicles, Volume One).

[Verse 1]
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 its side
And time is running backwards
And so is the bride

[Verse 2]
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 and the plow
And the sun is going down
Upon the sacred cow

[Verse 3]
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

[Verse 4]
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 innocence dies

[Verse 5]
Ring them bells St. 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

References:
1. Ring Them Bells (song) – Wikipedia

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