Question: meaning of the poem ring out wild bells

title: Ring Out, Wild Bells
text: A translation to Swedish by Edvard Fredin called ' Nyårsklockan ' - ' the new year 's bell ' - is recited just before the stroke of midnight at the annual New Year 's Eve festivities at Skansen in Stockholm , capital of Sweden . This tradition began in 1897 when the young Swedish actor Anders de Wahl was asked to recite the poem . de Wahl then performed the poem annually until his death in 1956 . Since 1977 the Swedish national public TV broadcaster , SVT , airs the event live , and the first to read the poem on television was the actor Georg Rydeberg . The show turned out to be a major success , and watching it on New Year 's Eve quickly became a nationwide tradition . Rydeberg recited the poem until his death in 1983 . After that many famous Swedish actors and / or singers have recited the poem , for example Jarl Kulle , Jan Malmsjö and Margaretha Krook . It should be noted that the Swedish translation differs significantly from the English original . Inspired by the Swedish tradition , auto manufacturer Volvo used the poem in a 2016 New Year 's Eve advertisement .