Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents an excerpt of a Mudcat folk music discussion thread that presents lyrics and information about multiple examples of African American Spirituals with the title "Ring Dem (Them) Bells" or similar titles that include the word "bells".*
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, socio-cultural, and religious purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composers of these Spirituals. Thanks to the collectors of these Spirituals and those who sang these songs for those collectors. Thanks also to all those members and guests of the online Mudcat folk music forum who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
*Full disclosure- I wrote a comment on this Mudcat discussion thread. I was a member of Mudcat forum from September 2004 to November 2014.
**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/12/elementary-school-choir-performing.html for the related pancocojams post ""Ring Them Bells" (African American Christmas Spiritual also known As "Oh Mary Oh Martha Ring Them Bells")"
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EXCERPT FROM https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=30625
Pancocojams Editor's Note: These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only. The brackets means that one or more comment/s from this discussion thread aren't included in this excerpt.
1. Subject: ring dem bells
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Feb 01 - 10:13 AM
"request lyrics of ring dem bells"
**
2. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: ring dem bells
From: Sorcha
Date: 09 Feb 01 - 10:23 AM
"Is this it? Ring Them Golden Bells"
-snip-
The word "Is this it" is a hyperlink that leads to this page and these lyrics:
https://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=4970&Title=RING%20THOSE%20GOLDEN%20BELLS
"RING THOSE GOLDEN BELLS
There's a land beyond the river
THat they call the sweet forever
And you'll only reach that shore by faith's decree;
One by one we'll gain the portals
There to dwell with the immortals
Where they ring them golden bells for you and me.
Don't you hear those bells a-ringing?
Don't you hear the angels singing
And it's glory, hallelujah! Jubilee!
In that far-off sweet forever
Just beyond the silent river
Where they ring those golden bells for you and me.
Recorded by the Golden Gate Quartet"**
3. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: ring dem bells
From: GUEST,chanteyranger
Date: 09 Feb 01 - 11:42 AM
"Or is it the spiritual that goes, "Oh, Mary. Oh,
Martha. Oh, Mary ring them bells (repeat). I hear archangels rocking jerusalem,
I hear archangels ringing them bells" (repeat), etc. The title of that one
is "Rocking Jerusalem." "
**
4. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: ring dem bells
From: GUEST,jaze
Date: 09 Feb 01 - 02:06 PM
"There's also the Dylan-written song "Ring Them
Bells" with a line that goes "Ring them bells sweet Martha for the
poor man's son." Joan Baez does it on a couple of lps including the live
"Ring Them Bells" album."
**
[…]
**
5. Subject: Lyr Add: RING THEM CHARMING BELLS
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Feb 01 - 11:30 AM
"It's probably not this one, but it's so pretty I thought I'd
share it with those of you interested in the one requested. Or maybe it's a
variant. And the source is a treasure itself (see below).
RING THEM CHARMING BELLS
Mary and Martha just gone along
Mary and Martha just gone along
Mary and Martha just gone along
To ring them charming bells. Crying:
CHORUS
Free grace, undying love
Free grace, undying love
Free grace, undying love
To ring them charming bells.
Preacher and the teacher just gone along
Preacher and the teacher just gone along
Preacher and the teacher just gone along
To ring them charming bells. Crying:
CHORUS
Way over Jordan roll,
Way over Jordan roll,
Way over Jordan roll,
To ring them charming bells. Crying:
CHORUS
SOURCE INFO:
This is from a gem found moldering away, in brand-new
condition, at a music store: Oak Publications' 1968: A Folksinger's Guide to
Grassroots Harmony. Quoting the cover copy:
"42 songs in traditional folk harmony in a collection
of ways to sing them. Transcribed from the singing of the Carter Family, the
Mainer Family, the Stanley Brothers, Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston, Rosa and
Doc Watson, Pete Seeger and Jack Elliott, The Staple Singers, the Georgia Sea
Island Singers, and others. Ed. Ethel Rain and Josh Dunson, ill. Art
Rosenbaum."
NOTES APPEARING WITH THE SONG:
"On its appearance in 1959, 'Mickey Miller Sings
American Folksongs accompanied by Bess Hawes' (Folkways FA 2393) created a
whirlwind of excitement among the small grouping of city people who were
interested in traditional music. Mickey and Bess created a rare blend of voices
that introduced to many city singers for the first time, the idiomatic harmonic
possibilities of Pretty Polly, Now He's Gone, and the song below, Ring Them
Charming Bells. Bess Hawes writes:
...this song is sung by both Negro and white congregations
in the South today. The term 'charming bells,' incidentally, was likely
'chiming bells' originally; we think this way is much prettier."
The song in 2/2 time and is shown with unison verses and
2-part chorus.
CHORDS (line by line as above):
verses-- A
E, A
A7, D
A, E7, A
chorus-- A
E, A
A7, D
A, D7, A
~Susan"
**
[…]
**
6. Subject: ADD: OH, PETER GO RING DEM BELLS
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Feb 01 - 05:42 PM
"OH, PETER GO RING DEM BELLS
(Traditional Spiritual)
Oh, Peter, go ring dem bells,
Peter, go ring dem bells,
Peter, go ring dem bells,
I heard from Heaven today.
I wonder where my mother is gone,
I wonder where my mother is gone,
I wonder where my mother is gone,
I heard from heaven today.
I wonder where brother Moses is gone,
I wonder where brother Daniel's gone,
Dey's gone where Elija's gone,
I heard from Heaven today.
I heard from Heaven today,
I heard from Heaven today,
I heard from Heaven today.
I thank God, and I thank you too.
Oh, Peter, go ring dem bells,
Peter, go ring dem bells,
Peter, go ring dem bells,
I heard from Heaven today.
This is a more traditional version of "Ring Dem
Bells." It's very similar to "Peter Go Ring Dem Bells," which
you'll find in Johnson & Johnson's The Books of American Negro Spirituals.
I found the lyrics here (click) which was much easier than transcribing them
from the Johnson book.
I wonder what lyrics Ellington used in his composition.
Anybody know?
-Lazy Joe-"
**
[…]
**
7. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: ring dem bells
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Sep 01 - 11:32 PM
"Peter, Go Ring Dem Bells is in Thomas Fenner, 1874, Hampton
Institute (Also in Jubilee Singers, Fisk). It is rendered in authentic dialect
in Fenner, not to be confused with minstrels imitation. Collected from a slave
who was a blacksmith by a J. M. Waddy"
**
8. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: ring dem bells
From: masato sakurai
Date: 20 Sep 01 - 05:42 AM
"A sheet music version of "Oh Peter go ring dem bells!
[and] Swing low sweet chariot" is in American Memory, Library of Congress.
It is from Songs of the Original Kentucky Jubilee Singers (San Francisco:
Bancroft, A. L., 1884), arranged by Frederick G. Carnes. The chorus is:
Oh Peter go ring dem bells,
Peter go ring dem bells,
Oh Peter go ring dem bells,
I Heard from Hebben today.
And other titles with "ring dem bells" or similar
words in American Memory are: "Hark! Don't you hear dem bells a
ringing" (2 items); "Ring dem chimin' bells" (2 items);
"Ring dem heavenly bells" (2 items); "Gwine to ring dem hebenly
bells"; and "Ring dem charmin' bells."
Masato"
**
9. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: ring dem bells
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 20 Sep 01 - 01:47 PM
"The sheet music also is illustrated on the North Carolina
Hampton site, from Thomas Fenner 1874."
**
10. Subject: Lyr Add: MARY AND MARTHA
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Dec 08 - 01:04 PM
"Many variants on "Mary and Martha" ("Ring
Those Charming Bells").
This one is similar to "Ring Them Charming Bells,"
posted above, but it is easier to post the whole rather than point out variant
verses.
Lyr. Add: MARY AND MARTHA
Mary and a Martha's just gone 'long,
Mary and a Martha's just gone 'long,
Mary and a Martha's just gone 'long,
To ring those charming bells.
Chorus:
Crying:
Free grace and dying love,
Free grace and dying love,
Free grace and dying love,
To ring those charming bells.
Oh! way over Jordan, Lord,
Way over Jordan, Lord,
Way over Jordan, Lord,
To ring those charming bells.
2
The preacher and the elder's just gone 'long, (3x)
To ring those charming bells.
3
My father and my mother's just gone 'long, (3x
To ring those charming bells.
4
The Methodist and the Baptist's just gone 'long, (3x)
To ring those charming bells.
Gilbert Clifford Noble, 1911, "The Most Popular
Plantation Songs," pp. 28-29 with musical score. Hinds, Noble &
Eldridge, NY."
**
11. Subject: Lyr Add: OH, PETER GO RING DEM BELLS
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 10:52 AM
"A printed version of PETER, GO RING DEM BELLS with musical
notation in 4-part harmony, can be found in Hampton and Its Students by Mary
Frances Armstrong and Helen Wilhelmina Ludlow, "with fifty cabin and
plantation songs arranged by Thomas P. Fenner" (New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons, 1874). These are the lyrics:
OH, PETER GO RING DEM BELLS
1. Oh, Peter, go ring dem bells.
Peter, go ring dem bells.
Peter, go ring dem bells.
I heard from Heaven today.
I wonder where my mother is gone.
I wonder where my mother is gone.
I wonder where my mother is gone.
I heard from heaven today.
CHORUS: I heard from Heaven today.
I heard from Heaven today.
I thank God, and I thank you too.
I heard from Heaven today.
2. I wonder where sister Mary's gone.
I heard from heaven today.
I wonder where sister Martha's gone.
I heard from heaven today.
It's good news and I thank God.
I heard from heaven today.
Oh, Peter, go ring dem bells.
I heard from heaven today.
3. I wonder where brudder Moses gone.
I heard from heaven today.
I wonder where brudder Daniel's gone.
I heard from heaven today.
He's gone where Elijah has gone.
I heard from heaven today.
Oh, Peter, go ring dem bells.
I heard from heaven today."
**
[…]
**
12. Subject: Lyr Add: ROCKIN' IN JERUSALEM
From: Azizi
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 12:01 PM
"chanteyranger on Date: 09 Feb 01 - 11:42 AM referred to the
version of this song that I remember from my childhood at a Black Baptist
church in New Jersey, 1950s. {Actually I only remember the chorus and the first
verse].
Here's the lyrics as found at
http://www.metrolyrics.com/rockin-in-jerusalem-lyrics-mahalia-jackson.html
ROCKIN' IN JERUSALEM
Oh Mary, o Martha
Oh Mary, o Martha
Oh Mary, gon' ring them bells
I hear arch angels rockin' in Jerusalem
Hear arch angels ringin' them bells
Hear arch angels rockin' in Jerusalem
Hear arch angels rinin' them bells
Church gettin higher
(rockin' in Jerusalem)
Church gettin higher
(ringin them bells)
Church gettin higher
(rockin in Jerusalem
Church gettin higher
(ringing them bells)
Oh Mary, o Martha
Oh Mary's gonna ring them bells
Oh Mary, o Martha
Oh Mary's gonna ring them bells
Hear arch angels rockin' in Jerusalem
Hear arch angels rining them bells
Hear arch angels rockin' in Jerusalem
Hear arch angels ringing them bells
New Jerusalem, New Jerusalem
New_______________
Gon' ring them bells
I hear arch angels rockin' in Jerusalem
Hear arch angels ringing them bells
Hear arch angels rockin' in Jerusalem
Hear arch angels ringing them bells
Them bells!
-snip-
I believe that it's important to note that the word
"dem" is sung as "them" in this Mahalia Jackson version as
well as in the version of the song found on the Negro Spiritual website:
http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/oh_peter_go_ring_them_bells.htm
In my lifelong experience, few African Americans sing
spirituals with "dis" and "dems" and few African Americans
want to hear spirituals sung that way."
**
13. Subject: Lyr. Add: RING THE BELLS (Diton, SC)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 12:56 PM
"Lyr Add: RING THE BELLS
SC spiritual
1
Ring the bells! all God's children, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
Ring the bells! all God's children, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
2
Ring the bells! when in trouble, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
Ring the bells! when in trouble, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
3
Ring the bells and tell the Saviour, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
Ring the bells and tell the Saviour, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
4
Ring the bells and let Him hear you, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
Ring the bells and let Him hear you, ring the bells!
So they say; Not today, Not tomorrow, ring the bells!
No. 24, p. 40, with musical score; collected at Frogmore, SC
(island community near Beaufort), sung by J. E. Blanton, 1913.
Carl Diton, 1928, Thirty-six South Carolina Spirituals,
Collected and Harmonized by Carl Diton; G. Schirmer Inc. New York."
**
14. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: ring dem bells
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 04:41 PM
"Footnote to Jim Dixon posting, "Oh, Peter Go Ring Dem
Bells."
Clarence Cameron White, 1927, "Forty Negro Spirituals
Compiled and Arranged for Solo Voice," pp. 28-31, provided a full score,
pp. 28-31. He included a verse:
O Peter, go ring dem bells,
Peter, go ring dem bells,
Peter, go ring dem bells,
I heard from heaven today.
Oh, dey is gone where Elijah is gone.
Oh, dey is gone where Elijah is gone,
Oh, dey is gone where Elijah is gone,
I heard from heaven today.
Printed by Theo. Presser Co., Philadelphia.
At the time, Mr. White, an Af-Am composer, was teaching at
the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, then a Black school. The school has
evolved into West Virginia State University."
**
15. Subject: Lyr. Add: DON'T YER HEAR DEM BELLS?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Jan 09 - 02:56 PM
"Lyr. Add: DON'T YER HEAR DEM BELLS?
Wukking all day in de cotton an' de corn,
Wid my feet an' my han's so so',
Looking for ole Gab'l to blow his horn,
So I won't hab ter wuk no mo'.
Don't yer hear dem bells? (Yes, my Lord!)
Don't yer hear dem bells? (Yes, my Lord!)
Dey are ringin' up de glory ob de morn.
Hallelujah!
Don't yer hear dem bells? (Yes, my Lord!)
Don't yer hear dem bells? (Yes, my Lord!)
Dey are ringin' up de glory ob de morn.
20. Religious Songs and Parodies of Religious Songs;
"From Alabama; Negroes; MS of W. O. Scruggs; 1908."
E. C. Perrow, Songs and Rhymes from the South, JAFL, vol.
26, pp. 123-173; 1913.”...
-snip-
This is the end of this excerpt of that Mudcat discussion thread.
There are a few other comments in that discussion thread after the last one given in this excerpt.
As of December 8, 2025, the last comment on that Mudcat discussion thread is dated 02 Jan 10 However, as of that date that discussion thread is still open for additional comments.
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