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.