Elegy for Lost Mariners takes inspiration and verses from Henry Lawson’s poem
“The Wreck of the ‘Derry Castle’” and the Navy Hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to
Save” to capture the horror and hope of the men who fought an arduous battle
against the turbulence of the ocean in the fateful Derry Castle shipwreck of 18871.
The shipwreck left eight survivors who upon reaching shore had to bury the 15
crewmates who did not make it and survive alone on Enderby Island in the
subarctic waters for over four months before rescue. More broadly, this piece is an
elegy for all mariners who did not survive their voyage and a depiction of the wide
and tumultuous flow of the sea.
Lyrics
God in heaven
God in heaven hear our cry!
Ocean’s salty tongues are licking
‘round the faces of the drowned
A cruel blade seems sticking to my
Heart and turning round
Day of ending for beginnings
Ocean hath another innings
And the surges sing its winnings
along the sullen shore
Oh God in heaven
Hide the floating, falling, rising faces from me
Hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea
Souls of dead men in whose faces
Of humanity no trace is
Floating ‘round untrodden cliffs
where nought but sea drift strays
Floating ‘round for days and days
Shadow ships forever sinking
Shadow ships whose pumps are clinking
And whose thirsty holds are drinking
Pledges to eternity
God in heaven
Hide floating, falling, rising faces from me
God hear our cry
Hear our cry!