Ringing of Revolution

[Intro]
We'll do a song then about revolution
A song of what's been true of all revolutions
From the beginning, the French, the American
This is a fictional song, a cinematic song

You've got to picture this mansion
On the top of a hill, housing the last of the idle rich
The last of the bourgeois, the last of the folk singers
As they are being encircled tighter and tighter by the Ringing of Revolution

All the people on the inside spiritually resemble Charles Laughton
And all the people on the outside physically resemble Lee Marvin

As a matter of fact, this song is so cinematic
That it's been made into a movie directed by Otto Preminger
It stars Senator Carl Hayden as Ho Chi Minh
Frank Sinatra plays Fidel Castro
Ronald Reagan plays George Murphy
John Wayne plays Lyndon Johnson
And Lyndon Johnson plays God
I play Bobby Dylan, a young Bobby Dylan

[Verse 1]
In a building of gold, with riches untold
Lived the families on which the country was founded
And the merchants of style, with their vain velvet smiles
Were there, for they also were hounded
And the soft middle class crowded into the last
For the building was fully surrounded
And the noise outside was the ringing of revolution

[Verse 2]
Sadly they stared and sank in their chairs
And searched for a comforting notion
And the rich silver walls looked ready to fall
As they shook in doubtful devotion
The ice cubes would clink as they freshened their drinks
Wet their minds in bitter emotion
And they talked about the ringing of revolution

[Verse 3]
We were hardly aware of the hardships they beared
For our time was taken with treasure
Oh, life was a game, and work was a shame
And pain was prevented by pleasure
The world, cold and grey, was so far away
In the distance only money could measure
But their thoughts were broken by the ringing of revolution

[Verse 4]
And the clouds filled the room in darkening doom
As the crooked smoke rings were rising
How long will it take, how can we escape
Someone asks, but no one's advising
And the quivering floor responds to the roar
In a shake no longer surprising
As closer and closer comes the ringing of revolution

[Verse 5]
So softly they moan, please leave us alone
As back and forth they are pacing
And they cover their ears and try not to hear
With pillows of silk they're embracing
The crackling crowd is laughing out loud
Peeking in at the target they're chasing
Now trembling inside the ringing of revolution

[Verse 6]
With compromise sway we gave in half way
When we saw that rebellion was growing
Now everything's lost as they kneel by the cross
Where the blood of Christ is still flowing
Too late for their sorrow they've reached their tomorrow
And reaped the seed they were sowing
Now harvested by the ringing of revolution

[Verse 7]
In tattered tuxedos they faced the new heroes
And crawled about in confusion
And they sheepishly grinned for their memories were dim
Of the decades of dark execution
Hollow hands raised, they stood there amazed
In the shattering of their illusions
As the windows were smashed by the ringing of revolution

[Verse 8]
Down on our knees we're begging you please
We're sorry for the way you were driven
There's no need to taunt, just take what you want
And we'll make amends, if we're living
But away from the grounds the flames told the town
That only the dead are forgiven
As they vanished inside the ringing of revolution