The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling

The lyrics are:{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

: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?" There are alternative, darker lyrics for the third and fourth lines, used in the original stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War!.{{cite web|url= https://www.phil.muni.cz/angl/gw/warww.html#Bells|website= Lyrics from Oh what a lovely war|title= Bells of Hell|accessdate= 31 May 2022}}

: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.

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.{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/26629 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805190007/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/26629 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-08-05 |title=The Bells of Hell Go Ding-a-ling-a-ling (1966) | BFI |publisher=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk |access-date=2014-08-21}} The film, depicting the air raid on the Zeppelin base at Friedrichshafen, was abandoned after early snow in the Alps.[http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_100366/47 ]{{dead link|date=August 2014}}

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."{{cite web|url=http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=49675| title=Origins: The Bells of Hell Go Ting-A-Ling-A-Ling }}

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|date=April 2020}}

: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.

It is parodied in "The Wonderful War," by Leslie Charteris, collected in Featuring the Saint (1941).{{Cite web|url=https://www.you-books.com/book/L-Charteris/Featuring-the-Saint?fbclid=IwAR3Fd-W5-BPs8qtHiUMggx3ssrtz-t9b1uFubdI_zaVAVE6bd6IUR9jmTwI|title=The First Saint Omnibus|last=Charteris|first=Leslie|publisher=The Sun Dial Press|year=1941|pages=77–140}}.

It is the song for the end credits of the tv mini series "A Perfect Hero" (1991).{{Cite web|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0103508/|website=IMDb |title=A Perfect Hero (TV Mini Series 1991– ) - IMDb }}.

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Category:Songs of World War I

Category:1911 songs