Sultana Songtext

von Son Volt

April 27, 1865 the worst American Disaster of the maritime
No one knows the count of lives lost
The soldiers, civilians and the sisters of charity
$5 a head Captains Mason and Hatch
Boarded 6 times the legal load of the Sultana
Leaving Vicksburg bound for Cairo
Memphis was the tragic last port of call of Sultana

6 miles out of Memphis a boiler gave out
From the flooding swift river and extra heavy load of Sultana
The current was cold the river was wide
A mile to either side away from the burning Sultana
3 boilers blew fire and lit up the night sky
Hell was a better place than on board the Sultana

The worst American disaster on water
The Titanic of the cold Mississippi was the Sultana

Hell was a better place that night
Titanic of the cold Mississippi was the Sultana