[Verse 1: Death-metal male lead, guttural and clear] Ninety-nine steps in a tower of stone Rope in my fists and the cold in my bones Every midnight the iron starts to sway Every midnight I climb, I obey Nobody told me the order was wrong The bell isn't mourning, the bell is the song I ring it at twelve and by morning they're gone The miller, the baker, the baker's young son They call me the ringer, they cross when I pass Mothers pull children away from the glass [Chorus: Death-metal male lead] Toll for the baker, toll for the priest Toll for the drunk at the end of the feast I pull on the rope and the valley goes still Dead ringer, ringing for the dead on the hill [Verse 2: Death-metal male lead, double kick relentless] Fifty-one winters, I never once missed Rope burns like rosaries wound on my wrist I tolled for my father, I tolled for my wife I tolled for the doctor who once saved my life Some nights I swear I will stay in my bed Then the iron starts swinging and pulls me ahead My hands are a hammer, my back is a beam I wake in the tower and I don't know the dream The priest on his deathbed said "Ringer, repent" I said "Father, I rang you the night before you went" [Chorus: Death-metal male lead] Toll for the baker, toll for the priest Toll for the drunk at the end of the feast I pull on the rope and the valley goes still Dead ringer, ringing for the dead on the hill [Bridge: Death-metal male lead, blast beat, the rope swings with nobody holding it] Midnight, I'm lying awake in the dark Iron starts swinging, the dogs start to bark Nobody climbing and nobody there Rope swinging empty and pulling the air Out of the tower the iron calls down One more for the ringer, one more for the town [Verse 3: Death-metal male lead, slower and crushing, then racing again] Down to the chapel on stockinged feet Candles are lit and the pews are complete Box on the altar, the lid open wide Sunday coat buttoned on the man inside Same broken knuckle, same scar on the chin Same rope-burned wrists with the rosaries in The whole village kneeling, they're singing my name He's a dead ringer for me, and I'm a dead ringer the same [Final Chorus: Death-metal male lead] Toll for the baker, toll for the priest Toll for the drunk at the end of the feast I pull on the rope and the valley goes still Dead ringer, ringing for the dead on the hill [End]
