The Bells of Saint Comgall are poised and well,
A hundred years old with a story to tell;
The Spire points high and the Church is wide,
The windows stained to the fore and side,
But the Bells are for all to hear.
They peal on the pull of the sallied rope,
A message to send of joy or in hope;
They dolefully toll with muffled tongue,
They speak to us as the dirge is sung,
And eagerly welcome each year.
That amalgam of metal, mixed copper and tin,
A beckoning voice to worship within;
That frame of iron in the belfry high,
The garter wheel’s turn for the ringing cry,
To sound o’er Bangor Town.
Give thanks for the Ringers and their past peers,
A band who’ve laughed and shed a few tears;
Give thanks for the Bells and their musical call,
Give thanks for the Saint who started it all,
Here in the County of Down.
Monty Alexander 26.8.99