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.      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.      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.      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.      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.