The Bells of St. Mary's (song)

"The Bells of St. Mary's" is a popular song.

The music was written by A. Emmett Adams, the lyrics [ [http://www.lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/t/thebellsofstmarys.shtml Song lyric] ] by Douglas Furber. The song was published in 1917.

The song was revived, in 1945 in the Hollywood musical of the same name, by Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. On June 14, 1962, it was recorded by Perry Como [Cite web
url=http://www.kokomo.ca/pop_standards/bells_of_st_marys.htm
title=The Bells of St. Mary's
work=By Request, A Perry Como Discography
accessdate=2007-05-15] for an album, "By Request," but was omitted from the album as released.

Due to the inclusion in the 1945 film of a scene featuring a Christmas pageant, both the film and the song have come to be associated with the Yuletide season although the latter has no direct lyrical connection with the holiday (and, indeed, refers to the "red leaves" of autumn in the chorus). Many singers have included a cover of "The Bells of St. Mary's" on their Christmas albums.

The song appears in an episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus". In a skit called "Musical Mice", Ken Ewing (Terry Jones) claims to have trained mice to squeal at the specific pitches necessary to play the song (as he demonstrates with debatable success). [Cite web
url=http://orangecow.org/pythonet/sketches/2noses.htm
title=A man with two noses / Musical Mice
work=Monty Python's Flying Circus Episode 2 Partial Script
accessdate=2007-06-08]

Recorded versions

*Frances Alda (1920)
*Chet Atkins
*Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans (1963)
*Webster Booth (1947)
*Mother Maybelle Carter
*Perry Como (1962)
*Bing Crosby (1945, Film Soundtrack)
*Vic Damone
*The Drifters (1956)
*Connie Francis (1959)
*Ted Heath and his Orchestra
*Wendy Lewis
*Vera Lynn
*Raymond W. McLean
*Aaron Neville (1993)
*Jimmy Preston
*Sister Rosetta Tharpe
*Andy Williams (1965)
*Taylor Winwood and the Peachettes

References