College Song and Hymn for Sri Lanka

Click to download College Song Music 

Words by Edmund de Livera
Air by Warden Stone

Thomians young and Thomians old,
Thomians staunch and true!
Rally round the College Flag,
The Blue, the Black and Blue
To your Alma Mater sing,
Thomians near and far
Loudly let the echoes ring,
For all we have and are.


Chorus
Esto Perpetua
Esto Perpetua
Esto Perpetua
The Blue, Black and Blue forever!


Like the serpent keen and wise,
Harmless as the dove,
By the cross we're knit in one
Holy bond of love.
Loyal to our Church and King
Both in peace and war,
To the College we will sing
For all we have and are.

Chorus

In the field of intellect
Many a prize we've won,
And upon the field of sport
Thomians yield to none.
Be it work, or be it play,
We will do and dare.
To the College therefore sing
For all we have and are.

Chorus

We rejoice in victory,
When our foes we beat,
We have learnt, when fortune frowns
How to take defeat,
All unfriendly rivalry
From our lives we bar
To the College therefore sing
For all we have and are.

Chorus

When into the world we go
For our life's career,
As the call of duty sounds,
We will answer clear
Onward to the goal we press,
Guided by our star.
To the College therefore sing
For all we have and are.

Chorus

 

Hymn for Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

PDFHymn for Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Sheet Music

Jehovah, thou has promised
The isles shall wait for thee
The joyous isles of Ocean
The jewels of the sea
Lo, we this island's watchmen
Would give and take no rest
For thus, hath thou commanded
Till our dear land be blessed.

Then bless her mighty Father
With blessings needed most
In every verdant village
By every palmy coast
On every soaring mountain
O'er every spreading plain
May all her sons and daughters
Thy righteousness attain.

Give peace within her borders
"Twixt man and man goodwill"
The love all unsuspicious
The love that works no ill
In loyal lowly service
Let each from other learn
The guardian and the guarded
Till Christ Himself return

To Him our land shall listen
To Him our land shall kneel
All rule be on His shoulders
All wrong beneath His heel
O consummation glorious
Which now by faith we sing
Come, cast we up the highway
That brings us back the King.

Walter Stanley Senior (1876-1938)
Poet of Sri Lanka,
Seeker of Souls,
Servant of God.


The College Colours / Flag

College FlagCollege FlagThe College uses the colours dark blue and black. There is a generally acceptable interpretation of the College Colours. Blue is the colour of the sea and the sky- of that which is eternal and infinite. It stands for all that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy and most of all divine. Black is the colour of darkness: ignorance, sin, shame and all that is evil and sad. The Blue meets The Black, but it does not stop there. Instead it emerges as Blue again. That which is of positivism, optimism and divine meets that of negativism, pessimism and diabolical and emerges and triumphs in the end. In other words, we believe in things of God, virtue and goodness that which is positive and dynamic; and is victorious over all that are of sinful and hateful.

The college colours prior to 1989 was dark blue, light blue and white.

The College Crest

Crest of S. Thomas' College, BandarawelaCrest of S. Thomas' College, BandarawelaThe current crest used in STC Bandarawela is the crest used in STC Mount Lavinia. The crest was first introduced to STC Bandarawela in 1989. 

The College crest adopts the main features of the crest of the Diocese of Colombo, Church of Ceylon, popularly known as the Coat of Arms of the Diocese.

The elements of this College Crest/Crest of the Diocese of Colombo (Church of Ceylon) are based on the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” The cross pictured in red symbolizes that our foundations are based on the Doctrines of Christianity. The Black outer cross conveys the message that all Thomians are bound together through it. The Bishop’s Mitre, depicted in Yellow, above the shield symbolizes that the College is governed under the Church and is guided by the Holy Spirit, who is our comforter and counselor.

The crest used prior to 1989 was first introduced in 1954 and consists of a young trumpeting tusker, typical of Ceylon, full of life, joy and freedom.