1- “See the women and children going to the train, Fair-you-well, my husband, if I never see you again, The engineer turned his head When he heard so many were dead; So many have lost their lives.
Isn’t it sad, isn’t it sad? Excursion left Durham going to Charlotte, North Carolina Isn’t it sad, isn’t it sad? So many have lost their lives.
2- Some of us have mothers standing at the train, Fare-well-well, my daughters, I may never see you again, And the train began to fly And some didn’t come back alive; So many have lost their lives.
3- The firemen said to the Engineer, “We are something late, We don’t want to meet up with the local freight,” The local was on the line And they could not get there on time; SO many have lost their lives.
4- When the news got to Durham, some said it was a lie, But there were some in the Hospital almost ready to die, And there poor old mothers, you know, They were running from door to door; Because so many have lost their lives.
5- Now colored people I will tell you to your face, The train that left Durham was loaded with our race, And some did not think of dying When they rode on down the line; So many have lost their lives;
6- They put the dead in coffins and sent them back to town, And then they were taken to the burying ground, You could hear the coffin sound When they let those bodies down; So many have lost their lives. By Franklin Williams and William Firkins.
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