Solstice Bells – Jethro Tull – Top of the Pops 1976

It is indeed the Winter Solstice which always makes me feel cheery, it’s psychological I know because the nights still take quite a while to get noticeably lighter at night, but as far as I’m concerned the worst of it is under our belt. I can look forward to evening walks in daylight or night time gardening.

Jethro Tull performed Solstice Bells on Top of the Pops in 1976, the year we got married as it happens. The words are below if you feel like singing along!

Happy Winter Solstice.

Now is the solstice of the year
Winter is the glad song that you hear
Seven maids move in seven time
Have the lads up ready in a line
Ring out these bells. Ring out. Ring solstice bells. Ring solstice bells

Join together ‘neath the mistletoe
By the holy oak whereon it grows
Seven druids dance in seven time
Sing the song the bells call loudly chiming
Ring out these bells, ring out. Ring solstice bells. Ring solstice bells

Praise be to the distant sister sun
Joyful as the silver planets run
Seven maids move in seven time
Sing the song the bells call loudly chiming
Ring out these bells, ring out. Ring solstice bells. Ring solstice bells
Ring out, ring out those solstice bells. Ring out, ring out those solstice bells.

Praise be to the distant sister sun
Joyful as the silver planets run
Seven maids move in seven time
Sing the song the bells call loudly chiming
Ring out these bells, ring out. Ring solstice bells. Ring solstice bells
Ring on, ring out. Ring on, ring out. Ring on, ring out. Ring on, ring out.

6 thoughts on “Solstice Bells – Jethro Tull – Top of the Pops 1976

  1. A most exhilarating song!
    I have it on a tape of Christmas songs and always play it each year – December and June.
    I’m revelling in the long daylight hours at the moment – the birds start singing around 5am and it’s not properly dark till around 10pm in my part of the country.

    • Valerie,
      Stupidly I get quite downhearted at the summer solstice. It feels like we’re going downhill to winter to me, although the schools haven’t even begun their summer holidays!
      Being fairly far north it never gets completely dark in the summer, you can easily read a book outside at 10pm, I love it.

      • I know what you mean, I almost have a “was that *it*?” sensation about the longest day, although here it’s followed by Christmas and New Year so there’s that to look forward to; but there is still the subtle feeling that the long slide into winter has begun.
        I actually like autumn days – the quality of the sunlight, the lingering warmth – just if we could have that without the days getting shorter…!

        • Valerie,
          Although I love spring as everything begins to grow it’s really autumn that’s my favourite season too, although I can’t say it’s warm here! The tree colours and dampish aromas of decaying vegetation – delicious!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *