Chimes of Freedom

by The Byrds

From the album: Mr. Tambourine Man

Track 11 of 18 on Mr. Tambourine Man (1966).

Duration: 3:51

Mr. Tambourine Man cover art

Lyrics for Chimes of Freedom

Far between sundown's finish and midnight's broken toll We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashin' As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds Seemin' to be the chimes of freedom flashin' Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight And for each and every underdog soldier in the night And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin' Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far off corner flashed And the hypnotic, splattered mist was slowly liftin' Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones Condemned to drift or else be kept from driftin' 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 flashin' Starry-eyed and laughin', as I recall when we were caught Kept by no track of hours for they hanged suspended As we listened one last time and we watched with one last look Spellbound and swallowed till the tollin' ended Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed For 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 flashin'

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More from Mr. Tambourine Man

  1. Mr. Tambourine Man
  2. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better
  3. Spanish Harlem Incident
  4. You Won't Have to Cry
  5. Here Without You
  6. The Bells of Rhymney
  7. All I Really Want to Do
  8. I Knew I'd Want You
  9. It's No Use
  10. Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe
  11. Chimes of Freedom
  12. We'll Meet Again
  13. She Has a Way
  14. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better - Alternate Version
  15. It's No Use - alternate lead guitar overdub
  16. You Won't Have to Cry - alternate vocal track/take 2
  17. All I Really Want to Do - Single Version
  18. You And Me - instrumental backing track - take 13