From the still born cradle where the nations sleep
To the halls of meeting where the new gods meet
No one knows the reason why the shadows swell
But the distant ringing of the mission bells

There is no heaven and there is no hell
They still keep ringin' up the mission bells
Dead men have no tales to tell
But they still keep ringin' up the mission bells

The bland lead the bland in a pale new world
Where dreams of democracy are now unfurled
On the lips of infallicy a peace proclaimed
Breath of revolution without change

There is no heaven and there is no hell
They still keep ringin' up the mission bells
Dead men have no tales to tell
But they still keep ringin' up the mission bells

Hear the words of the prophets, see the men on stilts
As they bow to the effigies that they have built
Once faith was a virtue, now its use denied
And the bones bleach white under western skies

There is no heaven and there is no hell
They still keep ringin' up the mission bells
Dead men have no tales to tell
But they still keep ringin' up the mission bells

We were there the day the red god fell
But they still keep ringin' up the mission bells