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Title
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Old church bells
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Singer
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Temple, Henry
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Song Lyrics
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Verse 1
O those old church bells! those merry bells!
Although they were but three,
A jolly set of ringers they,
As ringers ought to be.
It happened once upon a time,
How long I can't reveal,
Those old church ringers sallied forth,
To ring their midnight peal.
Chorus
O it really is a funny thing,
The tales that I've been told,
And plainly shows what ringers were,
In the merry days of old.
Verse 2
They spent their evening hours before
In soaking well their clay,
And as they sallied forth at night,
Could scarcely find their way;
To hear them talk, and see them walk,
Along the road, 'twas rich,
The truth to tell, one old boy fell,
And tumbled in the ditch.
Chorus
Verse 3
The other two they got him out,
And to the church repaired,
Unlocked the door, and on their knees,
Went scrambling up the stairs;
Doffed off their coats, and seized the ropes,
But 'twas not long before,
The big bell ringer missed his pull,
And tumbled on the floor.
Chorus
Verse 4
Then, getting up he seized the rope,
But found 'twas all in vain,
For every time he tried to chime,
He would fall down again;
The other two their eyes were shut,
But still they went on ringing,
Till he cried - 'Stop! Let's have a drop,
And finish up with singing.'
Chorus
Verse 5
The bells went off with three, two, one,
And then with one, three, two,
For ring them right that very night,
Was more than they could do;
They blowed, they lugged, they pulled, they tugged,
But could not ring at all,
Until each man had made a stand,
With his back against the wall.
Chorus
Verse 6
The bells then stopped, and down they sat,
Upon the belfry floor,
They drank till all their beer was gone,
Of that you may be sure;
Then, groping back their way downstairs,
As homeward they did reel,
Each man declared he never heard,
A better midnight peel.
Chorus
