"The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling" is a British

airmen An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, ...

's song from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It is apparently a parody of another popular song of the time entitled "She Only Answered 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling'". It is featured in the

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English and ...

's play ''The Hostage'' (1958).

Lyrics

The lyrics are: :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 Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

's words on the

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle and Sosthenes in Ephesus. The first eleven verses contain the earliest account o ...

: 55, used in the

burial service A burial service is part of the rites performed at many funerals. Burial Service may also refer to: * ''Burial Service'', music published by William Croft William Croft ( baptised 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer ...

: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" There are alternative, darker lyrics for the third and fourth lines, used in the original stage musical ''

Oh, What a Lovely War! ''Oh, What a Lovely War!'' is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the "somewhat satirical ...

''. :And the little devils all sing-aling-aling :For you but not for me The Behan version is: :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

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

Mirisch Productions The Mirisch Company was an American film production company owned by Walter Mirisch and his brothers, Marvin and Harold Mirisch. The company also had sister firms known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures Inc., Miris ...

World War I

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

with the title ''The Bells of Hell go Ting-a-ling-a-ling'' starring

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

, directed by David Miller and with a screenplay by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

, was abandoned after five weeks filming in Switzerland. The film, depicting the air raid on the

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

base at

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

, was abandoned after early snow in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

Salvation Army

The song also has links with the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

, 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." It is notable that the lyrics of this Salvation Army version differ slightly both from the established "angels" version and the "devils" version in ''

'': :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). It is the song for the end credits of the tv mini series "

A Perfect Hero ''A Perfect Hero'' is a 1991 TV drama serial set in World War II England. It was produced by Havahall Pictures in association with LWT for ITV and first broadcast at 9:00pm on Friday 17 May 1991 and ran for six episodes. It was broadcast in th ...

" (1991)..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bells Of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling Songs of World War I 1911 songs