Tempest

The pale moon rose in its glory

Out on the western town

She told a sad, sad story

Of the great ship that went down

'Twas the fourteenth day of April

Over the waves she rode

Sailing into tomorrow

To a golden age foretold

The night was bright with starlight

The seas were sharp and clear

Moving through the shadows

The promised hour was near

Lights were holding steady

Gliding over the foam

All the lords and ladies

Heading for their eternal home

The chandeliers were swaying

From the balustrades above

The orchestra was playing

Songs of faded love

The watchman he lay dreaming

As the ballroom dancers twirled

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking

Into the underworld

Leo took his sketchbook

He was often so inclined

He closed his eyes and painted

The scenery in his mind

Cupid struck his bosom

And broke it with a snap

The closest woman to him

He fell into her lap

He heard a loud commotion

Something sounded wrong

His inner spirit was saying

That he couldn't stand here long

He staggered to the quarterdeck

No time now to sleep

Water on the quarterdeck

Already three foot deep

Smokestack was leaning sideways

Heavy feet began to pound

He walked into the whirlwind

The sky spinning all around

The ship was going under

The universe had opened wide

The roll was called up yonder

The angels turned aside

Lights down in the hallway

Flickering dim and dull

Dead bodies already floating

In the double bottomed hull

The engines then exploded

Propellers they failed to start

The boilers overloaded

The ship's bow split apart

Passengers were flying

Backward, forward, far and fast

They mumbled, fumbled, tumbled

Each one more weary than the last

The veil was torn asunder

'Tween the hours of twelve and one

No change, no sudden wonder

Could undo what had been done

The watchman lay there dreaming

At forty-five degrees

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking

Dropping to her knees

Wellington, he was sleeping

His bed began to slide

His valiant heart was beating

He pushed the tables aside

Glass of shattered crystal

Lay scattered 'round about

He strapped on both his pistols

How long could he hold out?

His men and his companions

Were nowhere to be seen

In silence there he waited for

Time and space to intervene

The passageway was narrow

There was blackness in the air

He saw every kind of sorrow

Heard voices everywhere

Alarm bells were ringing

To hold back the swelling tide

Friends and lovers clinging

To each other side by side

Mothers and their daughters

Descending down the stairs

Jumped into the icy waters

Love and pity sent their prayers

The rich man, Mr. Astor

Kissed his darling wife

He had no way of knowing

Be the last trip of his life

Calvin, Blake, and Wilson

Gambled in the dark

Not one of them would ever live to

Tell the tale of disembark

Brother rose up 'gainst brother

In every circumstance

They fought and slaughtered each other

In a deadly dance

They lowered down the lifeboats

From the sinking wreck

There were traitors, there were turncoats

Broken backs and broken necks

The Bishop left his cabin

To help all those in need

Turned his eyes up to the heavens

Said, "The poor are yours to feed"

Davey the brothel keeper

Came out, dismissed his girls

Saw the water getting deeper

Saw the changing of his world

Jim Dandy smiled

He never learned to swim

Saw the little crippled child

And he gave his seat to him

He saw the starlight shining

Streaming from the East

Death was on the rampage

But his heart was now at peace

They battened down the hatches

But the hatches wouldn't hold

They drowned upon the staircase

Of brass and polished gold

Leo said to Cleo

"I think I'm going mad"

But he'd lost his mind already

Whatever mind he had

He tried to block the doorway

To save all those from harm

Blood from an open wound

Pouring down his arm

Petals fell from flowers

Till all of them were gone

In the long and dreadful hours

The wizard's curse played on

The host was pouring brandy

He was going down slow

He stayed right till the end

He was the last to go

There were many, many others

Nameless here forevermore

They'd never sailed the ocean

Or left their homes before

The watchman he lay dreaming

The damage had been done

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking

And he tried to tell someone

The captain, barely breathing

Kneeling at the wheel

Above him and beneath him

Fifty thousand tons of steel

He looked over at his compass

And he gazed into its face

Needle pointing downward

He knew he'd lost the race

In the dark illumination

He remembered bygone days

He read the Book of Revelation

And he filled his cup with tears

When the Reaper's task had ended

Sixteen hundred had gone to rest

The good, the bad, the rich, the poor

The loveliest and the best

They waited at the landing

And they tried to understand

But there is no understanding

On the judgment of God's hand

News came over the wires

And struck with deadly force

Love had lost its fires

All things had run their course

The watchman he lay dreaming

Of all things that can be

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking

Into the deep blue sea