Tom: Am
Am G
Let me sing you a song, boys, of fire and flame
Dm E
Of a French ammo ship, the Mont-Blanc was her name
Am G F E
How the brave Nova Scotia was never the same
Am G Am
On the morning when Halifax burned
Am G
'Twas in early December 1917
Dm E
She was packed to the gills with Grade A T-N-T
Am G F E
They were bound for the fighting in High Germany
Am G Am
When towards them the other ship turned
[Verse 2]
Am G
The Norweigan ship Imo, some fault in her gears
Dm E
She struck Mont-Blanc's side like the mightiest of spears
Am G F E
And the benzol ignited the captain's worst fears
Am G Am
As the fire consumed bow to stern
Am G
The people gazed on from their safe distant rooms
Dm E
Watched the soot and the smoke fill the sky with their plumes
Am G F E
But within, the ship's cargo would spell all their dooms
Am G Am
How were they to know to be concerned?
[Verse 3]
Am G
The crew rowed for shore, lest they burn or they drown
Dm E
They cried, "Save your souls!" as they ran through the town
Am G F E
But their warnings were nothing but strange foreign sounds
Am G Am
For the townsfolk, no French had they learned
Am G
One man, Patrick Coleman, in the railway's employ
Dm E
Sent word, "Stop the trains or they'll all be destroyed
Am G F E
This will be my last message, farewell to you, boys"
Am G Am
For a true hero's death he had earned
[Verse 4]
Am G
An explosion, colossal, when the munitions blew
Dm E E7*
Devastation and debris for miles fired through
Am G F E
The Mont-Blanc was gone, and the town with it, too
Am G Am
And the waters raged up in return
Am G
There were heroes and angels all fated to die
Dm E
Over two thousand souls laid to rest by-and-by
Am G F E
We will always remember and lift a glass high
Am G Am
To the morning when Halifax burned
