Loss of the S.S. Regulus
Loss of the S.S. Regulus
Original Text
John White's Collection of the Songs of Johnny Burke, ed. William J.
Kirwin (St. John's, Newfoundland: Harry Cuff, 1982): 42-43.
1Ye daring sons of Newfoundland,
2 That fear not storm or sea
3Please hearken for a moment
4 And attention give to me,
5While I explain in language plain,
6 That filled hearts with dismay,
7Of how the Regulus got lost
9On Sunday morn, with happy hearts,
10 With glad and cheery smile,
11She cast her lines and got up steam
12 And sailed from old Belle Isle;
13And as she steamed up near Cape Race,
14 It blew a heavy breeze,
15Her main shaft broke and left her
16 Disabled on the seas.
17Word from the Cape was soon dispatched
18 To send without delay
19Some help to shipwrecked mariners,
20 Disabled in the Bay.
21The tug John Green then got up steam
22 And to the ship did go,
24 The Regulus to tow.
25She towed her for about a mile,
26 While wind and seas did roar,
27And soon the tow-line parted
28 And she drifted towards the shore;
29The look out on the tug John Green
30 To these on board did shout:
31The port lights on the Regulus
32 Did suddenly go out.
33The tug-boat’s crew from that they knew
34 The steam boat was no more,
35They knew that she had foundered
37The tug-boat then for many hours
38 The Bay did cruise around,
39But no sign of the Regulus
40 Could anywhere be found.
41The tug John Green bore up for home
42 They saw it was no use;
43The danger of the tug being swamped,
44 She then gave up the cruise;
45And brought the sad and gloomy news
46 To friends in St. John’s town
47How Captain Taylor and his crew
48 That Sunday night went down.
49May God, the Ruler of the land,
50 The tempests and the deep,
51Make light the sorrows of the poor,
52 The widows left in grief;
53The husband, son and those they loved,
54 Most fervently we pray
55For those poor souls who lost their lives
56 In Petty Harbor Bay.
Notes
8] On October 10, 1910, the S.S. Regulus, sailing from Belle Island to Sydney, wrecked at Shoal Bay, near Petty Harbour and nine miles from St. Johns, with a loss of 19 crew members. Back to Line
23] hawser: cable for mooring and towing. Back to Line
36] breakers: strong ocean-wave breaking on rocks. Back to Line
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire / Sharine Leung
RPO Edition
2011
Rhyme
Form