quote · Legacy record
Stop, O stop the passing bell! Painfully, too painfully, It strikes against the heart, that knell, I cannot bear its tones—they tell Of misery, of misery! All that soothed and sweetened life, In the mother and the wife— All that would a charm have cast O’er the future, as the past— All is torturing in that knell! Stop, O stop the passing bell! Stop it! no—but change the tone, And joyfully, ah, joyfully, Let the altered chimes ring on, For the spirit that hath flown, Exultingly, exultingly! She hath left her couch of pain, She shall never feel again, But as angels feel!—afar, Chimed beyond the morning star, Agony and death unknown! Let the joyful chimes ring on!
Stop, O stop the passing bell! Painfully, too painfully, It strikes against the heart, that knell, I cannot bear its tones—they tell Of misery, of misery! All that soothed and sweetened life, In the mother and the wife— All that would a charm have cast O’er the future, as the past— All is torturing in that knell! Stop, O stop the passing bell! Stop it! no—but change the tone, And joyfully, ah, joyfully, Let the altered chimes ring on, For the spirit that hath flown, Exultingly, exultingly! She hath left her couch of pain, She shall never feel again, But as angels feel!—afar, Chimed beyond the morning star, Agony and death unknown! Let the joyful chimes ring on!
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Robert Story (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 57 · printed citation: Robert Story · subject: BELLS
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.