Silver Bells of Memory

From Broadside produced by Poet's Box (Glasgow) dated May 6, 1876

Silver Bells of Memory

In the hush of eventide,
Sitting by my cottage door,
Fancy softly seems to glide
Backwards to the days of yore;
And I hear in changeful swells,
Sweetest tones of melody,
'Tis the sound of silver bells,
Silver bells of memory.

Silver bells, silver bells,
Silver bells of memory;
Silver bells, silver bells,
Silver bells of memory.

Many faces have grown old,
Many forms been laid to rest
Underneath the churchyard mould,
Ones I loved the most and best;
Since I've heard the distant swells,
Flouting on the winds to me,
Low and sweet the silver bells.
Silver bells of memory.

Now I seem to live once more.
All the dear delightful past,
Ere the shadows long before
Sunny skies had overcast;
When we wandered in the dells,
Lingered in the flowery lea,
Listening to the silver bells,
Now the bells of memory.

A song from the 1870s which seems to have been popular throughout the English speaking world. According to almost all contemporary sources it was written and composed in the mid 1870s by the music hall comic, author, musician and later circus jester, Harry Dale. The earliest reference I have found thus far to the song is from Feb 1875:

New Wear Music Hall…. Mr. Harry Dale, comedian, entered on the third week of his engagement and varied his entertainment by singing three sentimental songs of his own composition, the remarkably fine accompaniment to one of the three: The silver bells of memory, executed with melodious precision by the band under Mr. Lax,  and contributed greatly to the enthusiastic encore demanded at its conclusion.

Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette -02 Feb 1875

In September 1875 Dale was awarded a gold medal for composition of the song, which appears to have been adopted by local brass band. The presentation makes it clear that the song was already popular, though at the time it doesn’t seem to have yet been published as sheet music:

The first reference to the song being published as sheet music comes later in 1875, when a music publisher based in Sheffield, TP Rodgers, placed an advert in the local newspaper:

Subsequent ads from Rodgers show several editions of the sheet music – by 1880 they were issuing the 26th edition, so the song seems to have had some popularity! These adverts and other sources suggest that the song was sung by in the Dick Whittington pantomime by the lead character, played by Emily Ethair. There are also reports of Dale himself singing the song.

By the late 1870s the song featured in the repertoire of the blackface minstrel performers like The Mohawk Minstrels and the PQP Negro Minstrels. It was widely sung by amateur performers through the remainder of the 19th century.

One piece of evidence may contradict the attribution of the words to Harry Dale. In Feb 1874 an American newspaper published a poem of the same title and almost identical verses, credited to a “HCCW” – this was around a year before the first report of the song in the UK. It may be that Dale adapted somebody else’s words, or that Dale wrote them somewhat earlier and they were taken over to America.

Sources:

• Entries in the Roud Indexes at the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:single[folksong-broadside-books]/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr%3A15736
• Colin Dale: The last Edwardian Jester
• Sheet Music(UK, 1876): held at British Library
• Sheet music (US, 1878): Library of Congress

Last Updated on April 19, 2024 by John Baxter | Published: April 19, 2024