

William Ross Wallace
The Liberty Bell

Original
I
A sound like the sound of a tempest rolled,And the heart of a people stirred,For the bell of freedom at midnight tolled,Through a fettered land was heard;And the chime still rungFrom its iron tongue,Steadily swaying to and fro;And to some it cameAs a breath of flame,And to some as a sound of woe.* Rung in Philadelphia upon the announcement of the Declaration of Independence, July 4th. 1776.
II
Upon the tall mountain, upon the tost wave,It was heard by the fettered, and heard by the brave;It was heard in the cottage, and heard in the hall,And its chime gave a glorious summons to all.The old sabre was sharpened, the time-rusted bladeOf the bond started out in the pioneer's glade,Like the herald of wrath—and the host was arrayed!
Original
III
Along the tall mountain, along the tost wave,Swept the ranks of the bond, swept the ranks of the brave;And a shout as of waters went up to the dome,And a sun-drinking banner unfurled,Like an archangel's pinion flashed out from his home,Uttered freedom and hope to the world.
Original
IV
Again through the midnight that bell thunders out;And banners and torches are hurried about.A shout as of waters, a long-uttered cry!How it leaps, how it leaps from the earth to the sky!From the sky to the earth, from the earth to the sea,Hear the chorus re-echoed, "The people are free!"
Original

Original