Ye daring sons of Newfoundland, That fear not storm or seaPlease hearken for a moment And attention give to me,While I explain in language plain, That filled hearts with dismay,Of how the Regulus got lost In Petty Harbor Bay.
On Sunday morn, with happy hearts, With glad and cheery smile,She cast her lines and got up steam And sailed from old Belle Isle;And as she steamed up near Cape Race, It blew a heavy breeze,Her main shaft broke and left her Disabled on the seas.
Word from the Cape was soon dispatched To send without delaySome help to shipwrecked mariners, Disabled in the Bay.The tug John Green then got up steam And to the ship did go,And got on board a hawser The Regulus to tow.
She towed her for about a mile, While wind and seas did roar,And soon the tow-line parted And she drifted towards the shore;The look out on the tug John Green To these on board did shout:The port lights on the Regulus Did suddenly go out.
The tug-boat's crew from that they knew The steam boat was no more,They knew that she had foundered On the breakers near the shore;The tug-boat then for many hours The Bay did cruise around,But no sign of the Regulus Could anywhere be found.
The tug John Green bore up for home They saw it was no use;The danger of the tug being swamped, She then gave up the cruise;And brought the sad and gloomy news To friends in St. John's townHow Captain Taylor and his crew That Sunday night went down.
May God, the Ruler of the land, The tempests and the deep,Make light the sorrows of the poor, The widows left in grief;The husband, son and those they loved, Most fervently we prayFor those poor souls who lost their lives In Petty Harbor Bay.
