Songfacts®:

• This is a track from British alternative rock band White Lies' sophomore album, Ritual. Bassist Charles Cave told Spinner UK the album title fits in with a theme running throughout the record: "The title, 'Ritual,' ties everything together. It's about the different daily practices people have that give their life more meaning. There are songs like 'Holy Ghost' and 'Turn The Bells,' which are about religion and faith."
• Cave told Spinner UK the story behind this song: "Turn The Bells' was written after I went traveling in Tibet in January. I saw a lot of very foreign practices. If a child under eight-years old dies they bury it by feeding it to flesh eating fish. It's not for me to judge, but those kind of archaic rituals are interesting."
• This was the first song that White Lies recorded for Ritual.
• Cave told Q magazine about the Tibetan trip, which he made with his father: "I grew up going to church every Sunday. More a social thing. My dad was really into it but then a few years ago he did a complete 180. He's since read Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion. So we were both fascinated to go to Tibet and learn about Buddhism, but the pair of us were blown away by how wrong our misconceptions were."