The Molasses Disaster Song  capo III
			copyright Wanda C. Metcalf  2011


Em                     G       C                                     Em
Molasses in the wintertime proverbially moves slow.
G                  Em                C                      D
Reality may differ, as the folks in Boston know.
G                 Em          Am      D
On January 15 in the year 1919, 
Em                   F#        G         Am B7                   Em
the North End was the setting of a most peculiar scene.



Em                     G       C                                     Em
At daybreak all was frozen, the wind was cold and raw.
G                  Em                C              D
But soon it warmed to 41, a January thaw.
G                                       Em             Am                      D
That might have been the trigger that caused the vat to blow.
Em                   F#        G         Am B7                   Em
It may have gotten overfilled and now we'll never know.



(chorus)
G                            Em                G                       Em
The vat was never solid and the treacle trickled down.
G                       Em                     C                     D
To cover up the many leaks they had it painted brown.
G                              Em                  C                                 B7 
Children caught the drippings and brought them home to eat.
Em           F#     G          Am   C        D             Em
Molasses ran into their pans, gooey, dark and sweet.



Em                     G       C                                     Em
At noon the vat began to bulge and groaned like something dying.
G                       Em                     C                     D
Suddenly the rivets popped and great steel plates went flying.
G                              Em                              Am               D
Molasses gushed down streets and lanes at 30 mile per hour.
Em           F#   G        Am            C        D             Em
A sticky wall 15 feet tall moved buildings with its power.



Em                             G             C                             Em
People screamed and fought to flee away from the disaster.
G                        Em                            C               D
They ran but the molasses was moving even faster.
G                                             Em          Am                         D
They thrashed and struggled in the goo, trying to get unstuck.
E    F#        G               Am       B7                   Em
But 21 when all was done had perished in the muck.


Em                             G             C                             Em
Uncounted livery horses and carts demolished too.
G                        Em                            C               D
It took out 6(?) warehouses, and a mail truck passing through
G                                             Em          Am                         D
It soaked the ground for blocks around and residents will tell
E         F#    G               Am                   B7                   Em
That on a sultry summer night there's still a lingering smell.


Chorus