Scripture Verse

They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20:4

Introduction

portrait
Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)

Words: Al­fred Ten­ny­son, 1850. It comes from Ten­ny­son’s po­em In Me­mo­ri­am A.H.H., an el­egy to his Cam­bridge friend Ar­thur Hen­ry Hall­am, who died of ce­reb­ral hem­or­rhage at age 22.

Music: Wal­tham (Cal­kin) John B. Cal­kin, 1872 (🔊 pdf nwc)

Alternate Tune:

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Cal­kin (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

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John B. Calkin (1827–1905)

Lyrics

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, hap­py bells, across the snow;
The year is go­ing, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The fly­ing cloud, the fros­ty light:
The year is dy­ing in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in re­dress to all man­kind.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slan­der and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the com­mon love of good.

Ring out a slow­ly dy­ing cause,
And an­cient forms of par­ty strife,
Ring in the nob­ler modes of life,
With sweet­er man­ners, pur­er laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faith­less cold­ness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mourn­ful rhymes,
But ring the full­er min­strel in.

Ring out old shapes of foul dis­ease;
Ring out the nar­row­ing lust of gold;
Ring out the thou­sand wars of old,
Ring in the thou­sand years of peace.

Ring in the val­iant man and free,
The larg­er heart, the kind­li­er hand;
Ring out the dark­ness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.