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GALVESTON WALTZ
©Gary Bowman Twas nineteen-hundred, September the eighth Our East Texas town, Met a sad fate A 30-mile strip, On a sandy spit No sea-wall for safety, When the hurricane hit No sea-wall for safety, When the hurricane hit Bureaucrats said, We’ve nothing to fear, As an off-shore storm, Was drawing near, Northward to Florida, It surely will go Out in the Gulf of Mexico, Way out in the Gulf of Mexico We gathered at beaches, With little regard The clouds rolled in, The winds blew hard The storm spun west, To our low-lying shore With a tidal surge, 15 feet, or more, With a tidal surge, 15 feet, or more The nuns at St. Mary’s, All gathered around, With 93 orphans, in Galveston town A rising tide, No place to go Singing “Queen of the Waves,” As the storm waters rose “Queen of the Waves, look, Forth ‘cross the ocean, From north to south, From east to west See how the water’s tumultuous motion Rise up and foam, Without pause or rest Rise up and foam, Without pause or rest” That hurricane blew, All the night long The nuns and the orphans, Huddled in song The storm blew north, At morning’s light Daybreak revealed, A most gruesome sight Daybreak revealed, A most gruesome sight Destruction and ruin, Throughout the town, Precious lives lost, Many were drowned That beautiful island was ill-prepared When the hurricane hit, No one was spared When the hurricane hit, No one was spared The nuns at St. Mary’s, All gathered around, With 93 orphans, In Galveston town All save three, found a watery grave Together they sang “Queen of the Waves” “Queen of the Waves, Look forth ‘cross the ocean, From north to south, From east to west See how the water's tumultuous motion Rise up and foam, Without pause or rest Rise up and foam, Without pause or rest” |
