I was wandering around the Internet, saw a story about this 1918 circus train tradgedy and felt that it needed a song. Here goes —

The Harkenbeck-Wallace Circus Fire Tragedy
Key:D © Al Zagofsky 2023

[D] In June of 1918, the [G] circus brought such joy
[A] Elephants and tigers [D] thrilled each girl and boy
[D] Then the tents were taken down, [A] loaded on a train
[D] For a nighttime run of [G] two hundred miles
To be [A] set up once a- [D] gain.

[D] The Harkenbeck-Wallace circus [G] filled two vintage trains
[A] Steam locomotives, [D] cars with wooden frames.
[D] Oil lamps lit the sleeping cars [G] where performers slept
[D] Some awoke when the [G] train slowed down
Few [A] dreamt the train had [D] wrecked.

      We had to go [G] on, on with the [D] show
      We carried [G] on, we just had to [A7] go.
      No matter [D] how… many injured and [G] dead
      The show must go [A] on, full speed a- [D] head.

[D] Brakeman heard a sound he [G] traced to a failing wheel
[A] Sent the train to a side track to [D] inspect the overheated steel
[D] But the train was too darn long, five [G] cars stayed on the track
He [A] heard a train approaching 'bout a [D] mile behind his back.

[D] He set flares along the track to [G] warn the engineer
[A] When that didn't stop the train, [D] warning turned to fear.
[D] He fired a shot into the cab to the [G] windscreen toward the top
But the [A] engineer had fallen asleep couldn't awaken to [D] stop.

      We had to go [G] on, on with the [D] show
      We carried [G] on, we just had to [A7] go.
      No matter [D] how… many injured and [G] dead
      The show must go [A] on, full speed a- [D] head.

[D] The steel-framed transport train [G] had its hammer down
[A] The sound of the collision could be [D] heard in the nearby town
[D] The crash it woke the passengers the [G] elephants and crew
The [A] fractured oil lamps set the cars a- [D] blaze in a hellish hue.

[D] Few survived the collision, [G] fewer survived the flames
[A] The circus folks were family, they [D] searched through the remains.
[D] One hundred souls were injured, [G] eighty-six died that day
[A] Bareback riders, strongmen and clowns were [D] wheeled away.

[D] The deceased were put on caissons and [G] buried at Showmen's Rest
The [A] survivors felt the show must go on, and [D] that they'll do their best.
[D] Seems the circus is dangerous, [G] disasters every day
The [A] Harkenbeck-Wallace circus fire trage- [D] dy.

      We had to go [G] on, on with the [D] show
      We carried [G] on, we just had to [A7] go.
      No matter [D] how… many injured and [G] dead
      The show must go [A] on, full speed a- [D] head.