Print This Page#01164 Print This Page
Come all ye Newfoundlanders and listen unto me,
And hear how gallant Bill Malone leapt in the boiling sea
To save the life of young Tom Bones, the steamer's Cabin Boy.
But for the pluck of Brave Malone this lad would surely die.
'Twas on the 14th day of June for New York City bound,
A steamer called the New Orleans, with engine strong and sound,
Was steaming forty knots an hour when to our great surprise,
We saw young Tommy Bones washed off before our eyes.
He struggled in the boisterous waves in all his youthful bloom,
And sank to rise no more upon the 14th day of June;
When near the wheel we heard a splash and then a joyful cry,
For there was brave Malone, he was swimming for the boy.
Dressed out in oilskins and seal boots, he didn't wait to think,
He saw the poor young Cabin Boy in treacherous waters sink;
And with that pluck and kindly heart in sons of Newfoundland,
To see a messmate in distress his blood could never stand.
He made a leap and saved the boy and kept his head afloat,
Till five brave British sailor boys drew near from them in a boat;
They brought Malone and the boy aboard while cheers went high,
For that brave son of Newfoundland who saved the cabin boy.
Sung by Pat Sullivan (1880-1959) of Calvert, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
