by Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836 - 1907)
In the old church tower
Language: English
In the old church tower Hangs the bell; And above it on the vane, In the sunshine and the rain, Cut in gold, St. Peter stands, With the keys in his claspt hands, And all is well. In the old church tower Hangs the bell; You can hear its great heart beat, Ah! so loud, and wild, and sweet, As the parson says a prayer Over wedded lovers there, And all is well. In the old church tower Hangs the bell; Deep and solemn, hark! again, Ah, what passion and what pain! With her hands upon her breast, Some poor Soul has gone to rest Where all is well. In the old church tower Hangs the bell -- An old friend that seems to know All our joy and all our woe; It is glad when we are wed, It is sad when we are dead, And all is well!
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836 - 1907), "In the old church tower", appears in Pampinea and Other Poems, first published 1861 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by August Mignon , "In the old church tower", published 1883. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-14
Line count: 28
Word count: 149