Cape Royal Disaster

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Lyrics

Come all you men from Newfoundland
That sail upon the sea
Come listen and I’ll tell you all
Of an awful tragedy
Eight brave young men from Newfoundland
May the lord upon them smile
They sailed away from their native home
On the side trawler Cape Royal.

They left Burgeo (?) for Mary’s Town
To go up on dry dock
They awaited her arrival
But received an awful shock
The news the people later learned
The Cape Royal can’t be found
And it seems like she just disappeared
On her voyage to Mary’s Town.

The search and rescue were sent out
The Cape Royal for to find
They searched the bay both night and day
But not a thing they found
When finally a call went out
A lifeboat had been found
But no survivors were on board
For it was overturned

All hope now was fading
For the safety of her crew
The search and rescue did their part
There’s nothing more to do
Tragedy has struck again
And fate has played her hand
And taken eight more lives away
From the isle of Newfoundland

Now we all share the sorrow
With the family left behind
And in our prayers we pray to God
To ease their troubled mind
May He protect our fishermen
Who sail upon the sea
And may He help us to forget
This awful tragedy.

Now to conclude and finish
For my pen I’ll put aside
When you kneel down to say your prayers
Tonight by your bedside
Be sure and pray for every man
Who sails the ocean wide
And don’t forget those eight brave men
On the side trawler Cape Royal.

Lyrics transcribed by Heather Sparling from MUNFLA Tape C3840 B

 


4 responses to “Cape Royal Disaster”

  1. Dave says:

    Is there a copy of this song being sung by someone ??

  2. Heather Sparling says:

    I am not aware of any commercial recordings or other recordings that are easily available. However, my records indicate that there are several recordings of this song at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive. I recommend contacting them if you are interested in hearing a recording.

  3. Warren says:

    I was listening to an old record a couple of weeks ago, and heard this song. Stan McDonald was the singer.

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