Unto my sad heart rending tale
I claim your kind attention
And to shed tears you cannot fail
At what I'm going to mention
Bosom friend and kindred dear
Are parted now for ever
By a terrible disaster that
Took place on the Tay river
Chorus: Weep, Oh weep, and shed a tear,
For those that's gone forever
From sorrowing friends and kindred dear
They were drowned in the Tay River
That sad and fatal Sunday morning
Twenty eight of December
Upon that ill-fated train
We for ever shall remember;
On a few days excursion trip
From their homes they started
Three hundred souls both young and old
All merry and light hearted.
In pleasure they had spent their time
And homeward were returning
They little thought how soon their friends
In sorrow would be mourning
All were happy blithe and gay
And in happiness surrounded
But that fatal bridge it did give way
And three hundred they were drowned
Alas! The shrieks and cries of those
Was painful and distressing
For parents to their bosoms dear
Their little ones were pressing
And as the train went plunging down
All hopes were lost for ever
And hundreds of poor human beings
Were drowned in the Tay river
Now when the train was going down
It really was bewildering
Fond parents tried to save the lives
Of darling little children
Though close to shore all hope was o'er
They clung to one another
While darling little children cried
Oh save, Oh save me, Mother
In Edinburgh and country round
Some hundreds now are weeping
For the loss of friends and kindred dear
Who in death's cold arms are sleeping;
Let us hope the sins of those that's gone,
Are pardoned and forgiven
And may their souls in glory shine
With angels up in heaven.