The Wreck of the North West Mail

A Ballad by P.F. Collins

It's an awful train disaster,
That happened here of late;
It is the saddest ever known
In this - the Mother State.
Full twenty-six did lose their lives,
Their loss we all deplore,
Their friends are now bewailing them
For they will meet no more.

The "Sunshine Smash" was very sad,
Likewise the "Aberdeen"-
It was gruesome, the survivors say That
awful grim death scene.
The night was dark and dreary, too,
The wind was bitterly cold,
We can't describe the suffering
Endured by young and old.
Cries of the wounded and the dying,

In pain and in despair;
"I'll not forget while I'm alive,"
Said a man who was there.
Some wool caught fire and the great blaze
Was seen for miles ahead,
It scorched the hands and faces of
The living and the dead.

The "Exeter Smash" we well know
Has made some people sad,
But this last smash and death roll is
The worst we've ever had.
Throughout the sunny land today,
There is sorrow and regret.
Especially in New South Wales,
Mankind will not forget.

Thousands are killed by motor cars,
With us you will agree,
And thousands drowned in rotten boats
Not fit to go to sea.
There's no one born who can foretell The
hour of night or day,
When the grim Reaper comes along,
And takes our breath away.


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