Surely those bells at Christmastime are church bells! Yet, as we have seen, some bells are just brazen gongs. Even the bells that call us to faith are not always X-ian.
Druids like a good clang-a-lang. Jethro Tull’s flute-rock hails us to “Ring Out Solstice Bells.” Ecstasy through clamor. Besides, there aren’t enough carols you can clap along with.
Cowgirl Aspen Black’s “Sleigh Bells in the Sky” relies on mythos and symbolism (and a voice like a dull woodsaw) to create a soaring outdoor ballad about loss. Gentle country.
Ohio City Players mean God = Christmas, obvi. But their “The Ringing of the Bells” is so carefully crafted as secular that i want to hear it in this pigeon-hole. Lively, yes. But a bit un-knowing in its gospeliousness.
Faithfully, spiritually, Melissa Etheridge invokes us to “Ring the Bells” of Peace. It’s inclusive of all who want to no longer want. Powerful folk.