Verse 1 Snow was falling on the cobblestones And the pub was packed with ghosts Someone spilled their pint of whiskey And we all raised up a toast To the ones who couldn’t make it And the ones who drank too slow To the choir in the alley Singing carols out of tune and low Pre-Chorus The fiddle screamed like winter wind The whistle danced around our sins Chorus So let the bells ring out tonight In this barroom Christmas riot We’ll laugh and shout and stay alive Till the morning sun denies it Raise your glass to bitter days And the friends we can’t deny yet Let the bells ring out tonight In this barroom Christmas riot Verse 2 Old McKenna’s on the table Trying hard to lead a song But the band is playing faster Than his voice can carry on There’s a warmth inside the madness And a love beneath the sound As the ska beat kicks like thunder And we spin each other ‘round Pre-Chorus The tin whistle cuts through the snow Like a spark that won’t let go Chorus So let the bells ring out tonight In this barroom Christmas riot We’ll laugh and shout and stay alive Till the morning sun denies it Raise your glass to bitter days And the friends we can’t deny yet Let the bells ring out tonight In this barroom Christmas riot Bridge And when the clock strikes midnight We’ll howl at the winter sky For the love we lost And the dreams we tossed But we’ll toast them one more time Outro Snow keeps falling Voices calling This riot is our lullaby Chorus So let the bells ring out tonight In this barroom Christmas riot We’ll laugh and shout and stay alive Till the morning sun denies it Raise your glass to bitter days And the friends we can’t deny yet Let the bells ring out tonight In this barroom Christmas riot
