Collected by Max Hunter (H-11)
For Mary C. Parler
Transcribed by Frances Majors
Sung by T. R. Hammond
Osceola, Missouri
September 17, 1958
Reel 255-56, Item 21
The St. Louis Cyclone
In the city of Saint Louis
On one busy afternoon
Just before the evening shades began to fall,
All the streets was lined with people
Going to and from their toil,
And no danger seemed to threaten them at all.
Every heart was light and gay
As they strolled along their way,
And to them all nature never seemed more bright,
Till the cyclone with a roar
Came a-rushing by the door,
Leaving sorrow and destruction there that night.
Hearts are aching, souls are sleeping,
Many loved ones have gone on forever more;
Wives and mothers weeping, over deaths grieving,
As they traveled on their way from door to door.
In a cherished little cottage
In the outskirts of the town
There an old gray-headed mother waits alone;
She had had her supper ready
And was waiting for her son,
For she thought that he would soon be coming home.
As the hours glided by
And at last he never came,
There she kept her lonely watch till morning light;
Oh, she'll ne'er see him again,
For her boy she watched in vain,
Just like other mothers on that fatal night.
Oh, the wire reflected the tidings
Of that city's awful plight;
Every honest heart was withered with surprise;
Oh, we'll all join in like brothers
And we'll let Saint Louis know
We will lend a helping hand from sea to sea.
Oh, we'll help with all our might
For to make her burdens light;
She'll find out that we'll be with her to the end.
When her trials all are o'er
And she's on her feet once more,
She'll find out that old Chicago was her friend.
