"The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling" is a British airmen's song from World War I. It is apparently a parody of another popular song of the time entitled "She Only Answered 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling'". It is featured in the musical film Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). The lyrics are:
- The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling
- For you but not for me:
- For me the angels sing-a-ling-a-ling,
- They've got the goods for me.
- Oh! Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling?
- Oh! Grave, thy victory?
- The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling
- For you but not for me.
Lines five and six quote St Paul's words on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15: 55, used in the burial service: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" There are alternate, darker lyrics for the third and fourth lines, used in the original stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War!:
- And the little devils all sing-aling-aling
- For you but not for me
Read more about The Bells Of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling: 1966 Film, A Perfect Hero, Tequila Vampire Matinee, Salvation Army
Famous quotes containing the words bells and/or hell:
“O he did whistle and she did sing,
And all the bells on earth did ring
For joy our Saviour Christ was born
On Christmas Day in the morning.”
—Unknown. As I Sat on a Sunny Bank. . .
Oxford Book of Light Verse, The. W. H. Auden, ed. (1938)
“Man disavows, the Deity disowns me.
Hell might afford my miseries a shelter;
Therefore hell keeps her everhungry mouths all
Bolted against me.”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)