Full Lyrics
Mellow chimes whose silver sweetness
All the depths of memory wakes,
As upon the Sabbath stillness,
On the ear your music breaks;
I have heard you in my childhood,
Down through all the mist of years;
I can hear your soft chimes pealing,
Full of mingled smiles and tears.
Chime on, chime on,
Chime on, sweet village bells,
Chime on, chime on,
Chime on, sweet village bells.
Sounding through the verdant meadows,
Lingering in the quiet dells,
Till the hills the sounds reecho,
Make the chime of village bells;
You have rung in joy and sorrow,
Funeral toll and wedding chime,
Through the frosts and snows of winter,
Through the summer’s golden time.
I have wandered o’er the ocean,
I have heard in other climes,
From cathedral tower and steeple,
Glorious peals and silver chimes;
But I love to listen later
To the tale the music tells;
To the thoughts of home and childhood,
That you wake, sweet village bells.
