Bells of Hell, The

DESCRIPTION: "The bells of hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling For you but not for me; And the little devils how they sing-a-ling-a-ling For you but not for me. O Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling, O Grave, thy victory? The bells of hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling, For...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (The Vermillion Box)
KEYWORDS: soldier death
FOUND IN: Canada
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Brophy/Partridge-TommiesSongsAndSlang, p. 55, "The Bells of Hell" (1 text)
Arthur-WhenThisBloodyWarIsOver, p. 63, "The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-Ling-a-Long" (1 text, tune references)
Hopkins-SongsFromTheFrontAndRear, p. 117, "The Bells of Hell" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Jolly-Miller-Songster-5thEd, #148, "Salvation Army Song" (1 text)
DT, BELLHELL*
ADDITIONAL: Edward Verrall Lucas, _The Vermillion Box_ George H. Doran Co., 1916 (available on Google Books), p. 343, "(The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling)" (1 short text)
ADDITIONAL: John Mullen, _The Show Must Go On! Popular Song in Britain during the First World War_, French edition 2012; English edition, Ashgate, 2015, p. 205, "(The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling)" (1 short text)
Roud #10532
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "She Only Answered 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling'" (tune)
cf. "The Postman's Bell Goes Ting-a-ling-a-ling" (lyrics)
cf. "Beside an Essex Waterfall" (lyrics)
NOTES [279 words]: Based on 1 Corinthians 15:55 (where the King James Version reads "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"), which is in turn derived from Hosea 13:14 (where, however, the KJV translates "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes." The King James translation of Hosea is based on the Hebrew; the Greek and Syriac versions of the verse are more like the reading of 1 Corinthians, which is quoting the Greek, not the Hebrew).
As best I can tell, the song usually referred to as "She Only Answered 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling'" originated as "Ting-a-ling Ting-Tay" (Roud #46862), by Harry Dacre, author of "Bicycle Built for Two (Daisy Bell)." The song came out in 1892, and there were a few songster and broadside versions, but it doesn't seem to have entered tradition. Also, as with "Bicycle Built for Two," it appears that all anyone remembers is the chorus. It begins, "I once met a beautiful Spaniard, quite the finest And divinest! She played, in the streets, for a living, altho' she'd the grace of a queen." He courts her, but she can only answer with her instrument -- and she has a husband who eventually drives him off.
Rodeheaver-SociabilitySongs, p. 114, has piece "Sing-A-Ling-A-Ling" which opens "Oh Mister (Wing/any name), We sing-a-ling-a-ling With all our hearts to you; We hope there'll be some thing-a-ling-a-ling That we can do for you." It seems clear that it is another riff on the original "She Only Answered 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling," but I don't know if they have anything in common beyond that. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: BrPa055B

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