1960
Wilbert Harrison Lyrics


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Far between sundown′s finish and midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside a doorway as thunder went crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
And for each and every underdog soldier in the night
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Through the city′s melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden as the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, they abandoned and forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burning constantly at stake
And 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
As the clanging 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
And the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
In 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 and blind, tolling for the mute
For the mistreated, mate-less mother, the mis-titled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chained and cheated by pursuit
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Even though a cloud′s white curtain in a far-off corner flared
And 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 driftin′
Tolling for the searching ones on their speechless seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
And for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Starry-eyed and laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hang suspended
As we listened one last time and we watched with one last look
Spellbound and swallowed 'til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused,
Accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse




And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin′

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Wilbert Harrison's song "1960" describe gazing upon the chimes of freedom flashing in the midst of thunder and lightning, in a world filled with injustice and oppression. The song recognizes and speaks out against the struggles of the disenfranchised, from refugees fleeing danger to those left behind in prisons or mental institutions. The chimes of freedom represent hope and the possibility of change.


The song paints vivid imagery of an apocalyptic world, where the sounds of thunder and lightning resemble the chimes of freedom. The lyrics focus on those who are oppressed and marginalized, including warriors who don't want to fight, refugees fleeing danger, and outcasts who are constantly at stake. The chimes of freedom create a powerful symbol of hope that can transcend the darkness of the world.


The lyrics to "1960" are particularly powerful when viewed through the lens of the civil rights movement which was gaining momentum at the time. Harrison's song speaks to the struggles of the oppressed and marginalized, including African Americans who were fighting against systemic racism and segregation in the United States.


Line by Line Meaning

Far between sundown's finish and midnight's broken toll
In the period just after the end of sunset and the start of midnight, we found ourselves taking refuge from a thunderstorm by stepping into a building.


We ducked inside a doorway as thunder went crashing
We took cover inside a doorway as the thunder boomed outside.


As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
The sound of the thunder was so loud that it seemed as if giant bells were ringing and casting shadows.


Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
The sound of the thunder seemed to suggest the ringing of chimes of freedom.


Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
The chimes of freedom seemed to be ringing for those who do not have the strength to fight in battles.


Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
The chimes of freedom were also ringing for refugees who are on the move and lack any form of protection.


And for each and every underdog soldier in the night
The chimes of freedom were ringing for every soldier who is fighting a battle against an opponent who is stronger.


And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We looked at the imaginary chimes of freedom that seemed to be ringing.


Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
In the midst of a blazing city that was burning, we watched in surprise.


With faces hidden as the walls were tightening
We hid our faces as the walls seemed like they were closing in on us.


As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
Before the rains started, we heard wedding bells ringing in the distance.


Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
But the sound of the bells dissolved into the sound of lightning striking.


Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
The chimes of freedom seemed to be ringing for those who are rebels and those who are living a dissolute life.


Tolling for the luckless, they abandoned and forsaked
The chimes of freedom were also ringing for those who are unlucky, abandoned, and forgotten.


Tolling for the outcast, burning constantly at stake
The chimes of freedom were ringing for those who are outcasts and who face constant persecution.


And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We continued to gaze at the imaginary chimes of freedom ringing in the distance.


Through the mad, mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
Amidst a crazy, mystical storm with hail coming down hard, we experienced something strange.


The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
The sky opened up creating strange natural poetry that was awe-inspiring.


As the clanging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
As the sound of church bells echoed from afar on the breeze.


Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Leaving only the sound of lightning striking and its accompanying thunder.


Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
The chimes of freedom were ringing for those who are gentle and kind in nature.


Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
The chimes of freedom were ringing for those who are guardians and protectors of the mind and its ideas.


And the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time
The chimes of freedom were also ringing for artists who feel like they were born in the wrong era and have trouble fitting in.


And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
We continued gazing at the imaginary chimes of freedom ringing in the distance.


In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
In the wild, cathedral-like evening, the rain seemed to narrate interesting stories.


For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
The stories seemed to be for people who have no identity, no status, or societal position.


Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
The chimes of freedom were ringing for those who have no place to express their thoughts and feelings.


All down in taken-for-granted situations
These people are usually in situations that are taken for granted by society.


Tolling for the deaf and blind, tolling for the mute
The chimes of freedom were ringing for those who are deaf, blind, and mute.


For the mistreated, mate-less mother, the mis-titled prostitute
The chimes of freedom were ringing for mothers who are mistreated and have no husbands, and for prostitutes who are labeled unfairly.


For the misdemeanor outlaw, chained and cheated by pursuit
The chimes of freedom were ringing for people who committed minor crimes and were unfairly punished.


And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We continued to gaze at the imaginary chimes of freedom ringing in the distance.


Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flared
Despite the fact that a white curtain of clouds appeared in the distance.


And the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
The heavy mist surrounding us was clearing away in a mesmerizing fashion.


Electric light still struck like arrows fired but for the ones
Electric lights continued to flicker like arrows being shot, but only for certain people.


Condemned to drift or else be kept from driftin'
These people were either condemned to be drifting or not allowed to drift in their lives.


Tolling for the searching ones on their speechless seeking trail
The chimes of freedom were ringing for people who are lost and trying to find their way without language.


For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
The chimes of freedom were ringing for people who are in love, but their stories are too intimate to be shared with anyone.


And for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
The chimes of freedom were ringing for gentle people who are imprisoned but have done no harm.


And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We continued to gaze at the imaginary chimes of freedom ringing in the distance.


Starry-eyed and laughing as I recall when we were caught
We remembered the time when we were caught and were laughing joyously with starry-eyed wonder.


Trapped by no track of hours for they hang suspended
We forgot about the passage of time and felt trapped in a moment that seemed to last forever.


As we listened one last time and we watched with one last look
As we listened to the final ring of the chimes and watched them for the last time.


Spellbound and swallowed 'til the tolling ended
We were completely engrossed in the ringing of the chimes until they finally stopped.


Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed
The chimes of freedom were ringing for people who are in pain and whose wounds cannot be healed.


For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse
The chimes of freedom were ringing for countless people who are confused, wrongly accused, abused, or struggling with addiction.


And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
The chimes of freedom were ringing for every person in the entire universe who is held up or stuck in some way.


And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'
We reveled in the memory of the chimes of freedom that once rang in our ears and flash across our minds.




Writer(s): B. Dylan

Contributed by Josiah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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