Chimes of Freedom
Words and music by Bob Dylan

Sender: NGDowell

CHORDS      EADGBe
       G    320003
       G3rd xx5433
       C3rd xx5553
       D7   x00212
       C/G  3x2013
       C    332010
       Am   002210

Intro:G      G3rd

1st Verse:
       G3rd           C3rd       G3rd       C3rd   G
Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
    G3rd    C3rd     D7                      G           C/G   G
We ducked inside the doorway as thunder went crashing
     G3rd            C3rd         G3rd    C3rd   G3rd    C3rd
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
G3rd       C3rd   D7                G         C/G   G
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
D7                              G           C/G    G       
Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
C                G               Am              D7
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
        G                C/G      G              C/G
An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night
       G              D7                G        C/G     G
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.


The other verses go like this:

            G3rd          C3rd         G3rd  C3rd  G3rd    C3rd
Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
     G3rd   C3rd  D7                G          C/G   G
With faces hidden as the walls were tightening
       G3rd        C3rd            G3rd     C3rd    G3rd   C3rd
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
   G3rd     C3rd   D7             G         C/G    G
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
D7                     G
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
C                G               Am            D7
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked
G                   C/G          G                C/G
Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake
       G              C          D7     G           C/G    G
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
An' for the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.


Through the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute
For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chained an' cheated by pursuit
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flared
An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look
Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching, whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse
An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.