Now listen to a tale I'll tell
In a plain and simple rhyme;
A nobler deed was ne'er before
Done in the tide of time.

It was a winter's night;
The moon shone cold on high,
And not a solitary cloud
Rose in the vaulted sky.

The night was dark and bitter cold,
The gale was at its height;
While struggling with the billows fierce,
A vessel hove in sight.

Among the showers of snow, sleet and rain,
The vessel strove to gain
The shelter that was close to hand,
But struggled on in vain.

And when her gallant captain found
The Tyne he could not reach,
To save the lives of those on board
He ran her to the beach.

Towards the sands behind the pier
The struggling vessel bore
And washed by most tremendous seas,
At last she drove ashore.

The signal gun at 10 o'clock
Boomed out right aloud,
And soon there gathered on the shore
A large and curious crowd.

The life brigade was on the watch
And soon did rockets fire;
All did their best to aid the crew
On board the Oile a Quire!

But useless were the rockets found,
While those around did say
To send the lifeboat out to her
Was throwing life away.

When spoke a sturdy pilot lad,
"What will you all stand by
Like a lot of helpless children
And see those poor men die?"

"No, no," his brother pilots cried
  "We'll go along with you,
Let us launch the old Tyne lifeboat, boys,
  And see what we can do."

But those who kept the lifeboat house
  Refused to give the key,
Stating not a lifeboat ever built
  Could live in such a sea.

Then when they found the doors were fast
  The crowd they raised a shout,
"Break in the doors, break in the doors,
  We'll have the lifeboat out!"

The doors shoved in, the lifeboat out
  By many a helping hand
Who hauled her swiftly to the shore,
  And quickly she was manned.

With a gallant crew to row her out
  For long they strove in vain,
For when afloat, some angry wave
  Would dash her back again.

At last they got her from the shore
  The crowd with bated breath
Watched her, and many thought
  They were hastening fast to death.

Sometimes the boat was lost to view
  And then again would re-appear
And every time they saw her rise
  The crowd would cloudly cheer.

They battled with the angry waves
  For half an hour or more,
At last, she reached the helpless crew
  And brought them all ashore.

All honours due to our gallant lads
  Who made the the grand rescue:
There never was a lifeboat yet
  Manned by a braver crew.

[Matthew Bell]

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