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From : dwsolo
Added: Sep 16, 2009
This arrangement for 6 part choir of the old Devon bell ringing song was composed and performed by David W Solomons - with various voices representing the bells as the song progresses The score (for mixed choir) can be obtained here (free download): http://www.myscorestore.com/product/view/id/2631/the-bell-ringing-devon-folksong.html or http://tinyurl.com/northlew I did quite a lot of research to make the words and pictures as authentic as possible, but I didn't attempt a genuine Devon accent! I'll leave that to local choirs :-) The Jubilee referred to at the beginning may well have been the celebrations for 50th anniversary of the coronation of George III - suggested by www.quoditch.org.uk Credits for images of the Devon countryside and churches Panoramio member (www.panoramio.com) Mattday (Ashbury, near Broadbury) John Austin and Silvi Kelcher (Broadwoodwidger church) www.quoditch.org.uk website (Quoditch Moor panorama) Ashwater parish website www.ashwaterparish.org.uk (Ashwater church and countryside view from the church) Wikipedia user: Necrothesp (St Mary's church, Callington - Creative Commons 3.0) Wikimedia user: Stephen Lea (seglea) (Northlew Cottage Church - Creative Commons licence 3.0) The words of the song can be found in many places on the Net, some more accurate than others. All of the places are in Devon, except Callington, which is in Cornwall, but it is likely to be the correct place since it is so close to the centre of the events - ie towns and villages North and West of Dartmoor. (The Yetties' version of the song refers to "North Looe", but this is very unlikely to be correct, since Looe is much further into Cornwall). For image purposes I have assumed Broadwood refers to Broadwoodwidger. This is the version I finally decided upon (a compromise between Quoditch's version and the Yetties' version): One day in October, neither drunken nor sober, O'er Broadbury Down I was making my way, When I heard of some ringing, some dancing and singing. I'll always remember that Jubilee day. 'Twas in Ashwater Town, the bells they did sound, They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold, But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, that there never were better in Devon I hold. 'Twas misunderstood, for the men of Broadwood, rang a peal on the tenor should never have been. But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, A difficult matter to beat them I ween. 'Twas in Ashwater Town, the bells they did sound, They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold, But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, that there never were better in Devon I hold. So the Broadwoods being haughty, they said to our party, We'll ring you a challenge again in a round. We'll give you the chance at St Stephen's by Launceston, The prize to the winner a note of five pounds. 'Twas in Callington Town, the bells they did sound, They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold, But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, that there never were better in Devon I hold. So the match it went on in good Callington. And the music rang out o'er the valley below. Then the old and young people, the hale and the feeble. They came out to hear the sweet bell music sound 'Twas in Callington Town, the bells they did sound, They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold, But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, that there never were better in Devon I hold. Well the Broadwood once more, were obliged to give o'er. They were beaten completely again in a round. But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true That no better than they in the West can be found. 'Twas in Ashwater Town then in Callington Town, They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold, But the men of Northlew rang so steady and true, that there never were better in Devon I hold.
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