BALLAD IN THE OLD STYLE: THE WORCESTER FIREMEN
Tune: Star of the County Down
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On a cold night in December
In a town not far from here
The fire alarm rang loud and long
Gripping many a heart with fear:
The old warehouse had caught fire
And the flames leaped to the sky
And before that evil night had passed
Six brave young men would die

As the trucks raced towards the warehouse
An inferno cloned from Hell
What feelings filled the lost men's hearts
No one alive can tell
But they never stopped to question
Or hesitate in doubt
They had one awful job to do: 
To get that fire out

And as the flames grew brighter
Each firefighter knew
Unless they got in quickly 
As they had been trained to do
There was no hope for anyone
No chance they would survive
So in went two to search the flames
For anyone still alive

But voices soon cried "Mayday"
In the conflagration lost
Then agony of decision
Of weighing fearful cost -
Soon four more in to follow
- Say how many volunteered! -
Then the deadly realization
That they too had disappeared...

And the world stood by in anguish
As the hours of that night
Passed by with all hope fading
While the fire still burned bright
The world prayed not for rescue
- None would leave that smol'dring grave -
But for God's eternal mercy
On the souls of Worcester's brave

They call these firemen heroes
And the world weeps as it hears
Of wives and children left behind
Of sorrow beyond tears
But tears will pass - our thanks must not
That thanks we all must owe
To men who gave their very lives
Like Another long ago

Let their names resound in glory
And be written in the stars
Brotherton, Jackson, Lucey
Who would give their lives for ours
McGuirk, Spencer, and Lyons
No braver men than they:
May they pray for us remaining
As we mourn for them this day


			- B. Black	
			December 1999