copyright 2011 Dan Sullivan
They said the building was fireproof
So on the eighth and ninth floors
Where Immigrant Girls sewed garments
They locked the exit doors
When the fire broke out that day
There was nowhere else to go
They could stay behind and die in flames
Or jump to their deaths below
So say a prayer for the Immigrant Girls
Who died on that long ago day
Never forget the reason they died
And always remember their names
The fire engines came quickly
As a crowd watched in horror
But the ladders couldn't reach
Beyond the sixth floor
The girls screaming from the windows
Had only seconds left to decide
What their final thoughts would be
And which way they wanted to die
So say a prayer for the Immigrant Girls
Who died on that long ago day
Never forget the reason they died
And always remember their names
The funeral march to the gravesite
Was made in a pouring rain
Mourners lined New York streets
Four hundred thousand came
Now once a year the church bells ring
And for a moment heads are bowed
In memory of the Immigrant Girls
Each name is read aloud
So say a prayer for the Immigrant Girls
Who died on that long ago day
Never forget the reason they died
And always remember their names
They said the building was fireproof
So on the eighth and ninth floors
Where Immigrant Girls sewed garments
They locked the exit doors
When the fire broke out that day
There was nowhere else to go
They could stay behind and die in flames
Or jump to their deaths below
So say a prayer for the Immigrant Girls
Who died on that long ago day
Never forget the reason they died
And always remember their names
The fire engines came quickly
As a crowd watched in horror
But the ladders couldn't reach
Beyond the sixth floor
The girls screaming from the windows
Had only seconds left to decide
What their final thoughts would be
And which way they wanted to die
So say a prayer for the Immigrant Girls
Who died on that long ago day
Never forget the reason they died
And always remember their names
The funeral march to the gravesite
Was made in a pouring rain
Mourners lined New York streets
Four hundred thousand came
Now once a year the church bells ring
And for a moment heads are bowed
In memory of the Immigrant Girls
Each name is read aloud
So say a prayer for the Immigrant Girls
Who died on that long ago day
Never forget the reason they died
And always remember their names
I like this song, nice melody and I actually felt sad. Actually, felt like you were reading me a story even though I know it is not just a story. This is a news-song of a tragedy that happened 100 years ago. I put myself in their situattion... I prefer to burn to death even though I can't imagine feeling my skin melt!! I think I would grab a bolt of fabric, unroll it and lower myself to the fire engine's ladder that reached the 6th floor. At least I would try... but then again... during chaos like that my brain might not function at all. Or else a hundred girls, one of them would have thought of that... *sigh*
ReplyDeleteThis is an old style of songwriting, the folk-song or story-song. You can write a song like this just based on the details in a newspaper story. Which is what I did. The lyrics came pretty quickly. You just try to tell what happened. And what a heartbreaking story. How can anybody hear about it and not be touched.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that most of them were young immigrant women and girls from Italy and Eastern Europe, I knew the story had to be titled 'Immigrant Girls.'
The thing that struck me is how some people in New York have kept the memory of these girls alive.
We really have to keep these stories alive nowadays, when you've got these Republicans who want to turn back the clock 100 years.
So yeah, let's turn it back 100 years and see what it was really like before unions and safety standards and environmental protections.
But now I'm preaching. Which I didn't want to do in the song. So I better shut up and let the song speak for itself.