Song of the Signalman

The Telegraph Wed 9 Dec 1885  p. 9.

Air—"The Young May Moon."

The rain through the night is streaming, love
The signal lamps are gleaming, love,
I must keep on on the move,
Or this this somnolent cove
Would soon be asleep and a-dreaming, love.
So awake !—the express is in sight my dear,
I've been at it since dawning of light, my dear,
For one of the ways
By which railwaydom pays,
Is to keep us at work night and day, my dear !

You, and most people, now are sleeping, love.
But my watch in my box I am keeping, love,
For the red or green star,
Though the sleep 'neath my eyes lids is creeping, love,
I've been working since rise of dawn, my dear,
Fourteen hours, and I'm not yet done, my dear,
Oh, to watch day and night
For the signal light
Is—directors think—capital fun, my dear.

Notes

This song clearly expresses the dangers of overwork on the railways, long hours – "Fourteen hours"– in the case the lonely vigil of the vital tasks involved for the worker in charge of the signal box. Little do the railway directors care!

For one of the ways
By which railwaydom pays,
Is to keep us at work night and day, my dear !