Sweet Chiming Bells
The 25th Track 1
I learned Sweet Chiming Bells in the 1970s from John Jones, singer and melodeon player with the Oyster Ceilidh Band (as Oysterband were known back then). It’s a carol which is widely sung in – Yorkshire, where the words of ‘While Shepherds Watched’ are sung to dozens of different tunes – and in the Salvation Army. This version is as sung in John Jones’ home village of Meltham, near Holmfirth in South Yorkshire.
You can hear a live recording of this carol at A Folk Song A Week Week 174 – Sweet Chiming Bells