Lyrics
Hang on the bell, Nellie Hang on the bell. Your father is locked in a cold prison cell. As we swing to the left, as we swing to the right, (CHORUS) Remember that curfew must never ring tonight. The scene was in the jailhouse and if curfew rang that night, The guy in the #13 cell would go out like a light. She knew her dad was innocent and so our little Nell, Tied her tender torso to the clapper of the bell. Ooooohhhhh (Repeat Chorus) It all began when little Nell said no to Handsome Jack, And struggled as he tried to kiss her by the railroad track. Daddy came a runnin as the train came down the line, And Jack fell back across the track as he paid the price of crime. Oooohhhhh (Chorus) Then they arrested Daddy and took him before the law, And the Seargent said that handsome Jack wasn’t handsome anymore. Nell, she cried and pleaded but the jury didn’t care, They didn’t have a sofa so they handed him the chair. Ooooohhhhh (Repeat Chorus) Oh they pulled upon the bell rope, But there was no ting a ling. They couldn’t get the business done, The curfew wouldn’t ring. Nell was up there swinging, But below they tugged and heaved. When all at once a voice said “Stop.” The geezer’s been reprieved. Ooohhhh (Chorus) Now that’s the bedtime story that the warden likes to tell, And all the convicts listen about our plucky little Nell. The way she saved her Dad that night, The curfew couldn’t ring. And tears streamed down their faces, As in harmony they sing. Oooohhhh (Chorus)
