1 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.

2 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.

3 Ring joyously! Ring joyously!
O blessed 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.