British airmen's song
"The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling" is a British airmen's song from World War I.[1]
It is apparently a parody of another popular song of the time entitled "She Only Answered 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling'".[2] It is featured in the Brendan Behan's play The Hostage (1958).[3]
Lyrics
The lyrics are:[citation needed]
- 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?"[1] There are alternative, darker lyrics for the third and fourth lines, used in the original stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War!.[4]
- And the little devils all sing-aling-aling
- For you but not for me
The Behan version is:[3]
- The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling
- For you but not for me:
- Oh! Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling?
- Oh! Grave, thy victory?
- If you meet the undertaker,
- Or the young man from the Pru,
- Get a pint with what's left over,
- Now I'll say good-bye to you.
1966 film
A 1966 Mirisch Productions World War I war film with the title The Bells of Hell go Ting-a-ling-a-ling starring Gregory Peck and Ian McKellen, directed by David Miller and with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, was abandoned after five weeks filming in Switzerland.[5] The film, depicting the air raid on the Zeppelin base at Friedrichshafen, was abandoned after early snow in the Alps.[6]
Salvation Army
The song also has links with the Salvation Army, as referenced in "The Mixer and Server, Volume 20" of 1911: "In London, the Salvation Army lassies and other street-praying bands are singing a song that has become universally popular in the crowded sections of the city."[7]
It is notable that the lyrics of this Salvation Army version differ slightly both from the established "angels" version and the "devils" version in Oh, What a Lovely War!:[citation needed]
- The bells of hell go ding-aling-ling
- For you, but not for me;
- The sweet-voiced angels sing-a-ling-ling
- Through all eternity.
- Oh, death, where is thy sting-a-ling-ling;
- Oh, grave, thy victory!
- No ding-a-ling-ling, no sting-a-ling-ling.
- But sing-a-ling-ling for me.
In popular culture
It is parodied in "The Wonderful War," by Leslie Charteris, collected in Featuring the Saint (1941).[8]
It is the song for the end credits of the tv mini series "A Perfect Hero" (1991).[9]
References
