83 Ordinary People

A Song by Nigel Foote©Nigel Foote 1985 (The Granville Song)

The young girl just made the train
Didn’t want to be late again
Ah but she should’ve been, she should’ve been
But the old man on the stairs
Slowed down by the years
Was left standing on the platform with his cane

Passengers from mountain towns
Country folk but city bound
Gathered at their stations down the line
They found their places on the train
A lottery of death and pain
For many it was the last journey of their lives

Chorus:
And the families of those people
Eighty-three ordinary people
Can do nothing much, except wonder why

Some sat sleeping against the windows
Others read the morning papers
Never dreaming that they would be the next headlines
But the news swept through the mountains
And silently we counted
For the train from Mount Victoria had left the line

Chorus

The rescuers came and tried
To save some of those inside
Hands held hands that each year now hold flowers
And scattered roses on the tracks
At Granville now bring back
The memory of that ill-fated hour

Chorus twice

Note

Many thanks to Nigel Foote for permission to add this song to the Australian Railway Songs collection

Nigel writes:
'I was originally asked to sing the song at the 10th Anniversary of the disaster, held at the Bold Street Bridge Memorial Service in 1987, and then every five years after that, including the 20th anniversary in 1997.
I was awarded the Granville Medal for the song.'

Visit Nigel's website at http://www.folksinger.com.au/