Far between the sundown's finish
And midnights broken toll
We ducked inside
The doorway [as] thunder [went] crashing
As majestic bells of bolts
Struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warriors
whose strength is not to fight
flashing for the refugees
of the unarmed road of flight
and for each and every underdog
soldier in the night
and we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
[The Byrds skipped the next few verses]
There are cities melted furnace
unexpectedly we watched
with faces hidden as the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells
before the blowing rain
dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel
tolling for the rake
tolling for the luckless
they are bound and damned forsaked
tolling for the outcasts
burning constantly at stake
and we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Through the mad mystic hammering
and the wild ripping hail
the sky cracked its farms in naked wonder
As the clanging of the church bells
blew far into the breeze
leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle
striking for the kind
striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
and the poet and painter
far behind his rightful time
and we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
In the wild cathedral evening
the rain unravelled tales
for a disrobed faceless farms of no position
Tolling for the tongues
with no place to bring their thoughts
all down and taken for granted situations
Tolling for the deaf and blind
tolling for the mute
for a mistreated maidless mother, a mistitled prostitute
for the misdemeanor outlaw
chained and cheated by pursuit
and we gaze upon the chimes of freedom flashing
[The Byrds pick it up here]
Even though the cloud's white curtain
in a far off corner [flowered]
and the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows
fired but [further ones]
condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones
on their speechless seeking trail
for the lonesome hearted lovers with too personal a tale
and for each unharmful gentle soul
misplaced inside a jail
and we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
[Byrds/McGuinn:
dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee
dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee-duh]
Starry eyes and laughing
as I recall when we were caught
[trapped] no track [for] ours for they hang suspended
As we listened one last time
and we watched with one last look
spellbound and swallowed 'til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching
whose wounds cannot be nursed
or the countless confused accused misused
strung out ones and worse
and for every hung up person
in the whole wide universe
and we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
[Byrds: dee dee...]