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Post by Twoddle on Aug 18, 2008 21:02:48 GMT
Time for some William Topaz McGonagall. First, his brilliant but slightly over-optimistic poem,
The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay! With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array And your central girders, which seem to the eye To be almost towering to the sky. The greatest wonder of the day, And a great beautification to the River Tay, Most beautiful to be seen, Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay! That has caused the Emperor of Brazil to leave His home far away, incognito in his dress, And view thee ere he passed along en route to Inverness.
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay! The longest of the present day That has ever crossed o'er a tidal river stream, Most gigantic to be seen, Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay! Which will cause great rejoicing on the opening day And hundreds of people will come from far away, Also the Queen, most gorgeous to be seen, Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay! And prosperity to Provost Cox, who has given Thirty thousand pounds and upwards away In helping to erect the Bridge of the Tay, Most handsome to be seen, Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay! I hope that God will protect all passengers By night and by day, And that no accident will befall them while crossing The Bridge of the Silvery Tay, For that would be most awful to be seen Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay! And prosperity to Messrs Bouche and Grothe, The famous engineers of the present day, Who have succeeded in erecting the Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay, Which stands unequalled to be seen Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
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Post by Twoddle on Aug 18, 2008 21:05:29 GMT
And, of course, the tragic sequel and undoubtedly his finest work,
The Tay Bridge Disaster
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay! Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember'd for a very long time.
'Twas about seven o'clock at night, And the wind it blew with all its might, And the rain came pouring down, And the dark clouds seem'd to frown, And the Demon of the air seem'd to say- "I'll blow down the Bridge of Tay."
When the train left Edinburgh The passengers' hearts were light and felt no sorrow, But Boreas blew a terrific gale, Which made their hearts for to quail, And many of the passengers with fear did say- "I hope God will send us safe across the Bridge of Tay."
But when the train came near to Wormit Bay, Boreas he did loud and angry bray, And shook the central girders of the Bridge of Tay On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember'd for a very long time.
So the train sped on with all its might, And Bonnie Dundee soon hove in sight, And the passengers' hearts felt light, Thinking they would enjoy themselves on the New Year, With their friends at home they lov'd most dear, And wish them all a happy New Year.
So the train mov'd slowly along the Bridge of Tay, Until it was about midway, Then the central girders with a crash gave way, And down went the train and passengers into the Tay! The Storm Fiend did loudly bray, Because ninety lives had been taken away, On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember'd for a very long time.
As soon as the catastrophe came to be known The alarm from mouth to mouth was blown, And the cry rang out all o'er the town, Good Heavens! the Tay Bridge is blown down, And a passenger train from Edinburgh, Which fill'd all the peoples hearts with sorrow, And made them for to turn pale, Because none of the passengers were sav'd to tell the tale How the disaster happen'd on the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember'd for a very long time.
It must have been an awful sight, To witness in the dusky moonlight, While the Storm Fiend did laugh, and angry did bray, Along the Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay, Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay, I must now conclude my lay By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay, That your central girders would not have given way, At least many sensible men do say, Had they been supported on each side with buttresses, At least many sensible men confesses, For the stronger we our houses do build, The less chance we have of being killed.
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Post by Twoddle on Aug 26, 2008 7:54:15 GMT
An Address to the New Tay Bridge
Beautiful new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay, With your strong brick piers and buttresses in so grand array, And your thirteen central girders, which seem to my eye Strong enough all windy storms to defy. And as I gaze upon thee my heart feels gay, Because thou are the greatest railway bridge of the present day, And can be seen for miles away From North, South, East or West of the Tay On a beautiful and clear sunshiny day, And ought to make the hearts of the "Mars" boys feel gay, Because thine equal nowhere can be seen, Only near by Dundee and the bonnie Magdalen Green.
Beautiful new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay, With thy beautiful side-screens along your railway, Which will be a great protection on a windy day, So as the railway carriages won't be blown away, And ought to cheer the hearts of the passengers night and day As they are conveyed along thy beautiful railway, And towering above the Silvery Tay, Spanning the beautiful river shore to shore Upwards of two miles and more, Which is most beautiful to be seen Near by Dundee and the bonnie Magdalen Green,
Thy structure to my eye seems strong and grand, And the workmanship most skilfully planned; And I hope the designers, Messrs Barlow and Arrol, will prosper for many a day For erecting thee across the beautiful Tay. And I think nobody need have the least dismay To cross o'er thee by night or by day, Because thy strength is visible to be seen Near by Dundee and the bonnie Magdalen Green.
Beautiful new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay, I wish you success for many a year and a day, And I hope thousands of people will come from far away, Both high and low without delay, From the North, South, East and West, Because as a railway bridge thou art the best; Thou standest unequalled to be seen Near by Dundee and bonnie Magdalen Green.
And for beauty thou art most lovely to be seen As the train crosses o'er thee with her cloud of steam; And you look well, painted the colour of marone, And to find thy equal there is none, Which, without fear of contradiction, I venture to say, Because you are the longest railway bridge of the present day That now crosses o'er a tidal river stream, And the most handsome to be seen Near by Dundee and the bonnie Magdalen Green.
The New Yorkers boast about their Brooklyn Bridge, But in comparison to thee it seems like a midge, Because thou spannest the Silvery Tay A mile and more longer I venture to say; Besides the railway carriages are pulled across by a rope, Therefore Brooklyn Bridge cannot with thee cope; And as you have been opened on the 20th day of June, I hope Her Majesty Queen Victoria will visit thee very soon, Because thou art worthy of a visit from Duke, Lord or Queen, And strong and securely built, which is most worthy to be seen Near by Dundee and the bonnie Magdalen Green.
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Post by Sue M-V on Sept 13, 2008 1:17:29 GMT
McGonagall is just too good to be true, isn't he?!
I (rather cruelly, perhaps)include The Tay Bridge Disaster in an anthology of poems that I hand out to classes wishing to read such things. I usually ask them to pick out a favourite, and it's amazing how many choose McGonagall! I suppose it's because he leaves you in no doubt of what he means. He has me in fits.
Sue
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