Far between sundown's finish
an' midnight's broken toll We ducked inside the doorway, thunder
crashing As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds Seeming
to be the chimes of freedom flashing Flashing for the warriors whose strength
is not to fight Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of
flight An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night An' we gazed
upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
In the city's melted
furnace, unexpectedly we watched With faces hidden while the walls were
tightening As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin'
rain Dissolved into the bells of the lightning Tolling for the rebel,
tolling for the rake Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an'
forsaked Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake An' we gazed
upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Through the mad mystic
hammering of the wild ripping hail The sky cracked its poems in naked
wonder That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the
breeze Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder Striking for the
gentle, striking for the kind Striking for the guardians and protectors of
the mind An' the unpawned painter behind beyond his rightful time An' we
gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Through the wild cathedral
evening the rain unraveled tales For the disrobed faceless forms of no
position Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts All
down in taken-for-granted situations Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling
for the mute Tolling for the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled
prostitute For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an' cheated by pursuit An'
we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Even though a cloud's white
curtain in a far-off corner flashed An' the hypnotic splattered mist was
slowly lifting Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the
ones Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting Tolling for the
searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail For the lonesome-hearted
lovers with too personal a tale An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced
inside a jail An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Starry-eyed an' laughing as
I recall when we were caught Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged
suspended As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last
look Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended Tolling for the
aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed For the countless confused,
accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse An' for every hung-up person in
the whole wide universe An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom
flashing.
(Composed by Bob Dylan and
performed by The Byrds)
