The Willow Tree (1816)/The Bay of Biscay O
THE BAY OF BISCAY O.
Loud roar'd the dreadful thuuder;
The rain in deluge show'rs!
The clouds were rent asunder
By lightning's vivid pow'rs.
The night both drear and dark,
Our poor devoted bark,
Till next day,
There she lay,
In the bay of Biscay O.
Now dash'd upon the billow,
Our op'ning timbers creak;
Each fears a wat'ry pillow,
None stop the dreadful leak.
To cling to slipp'ry shronds,
Each breathless seamen crowds,
As she lay,
Till the day,
In the bay of Biscay O.
At length the wish'd-for morrow
Broke thro' the hazy sky;
Absorb'd in silent sorrow,
Each heav'd the bitter sigh:
The dismal wreck to view,
Struck horror to the crew,
As she lay,
On that day,
In the bay of Biscay O.
Her yielding timbers sever,
Her pitchy seams are rent;
When Heav'n, all bounteous ever,
Its boundless mercy sent!
A sail in sight appears,
We hail her with three cheers!
Now we sail,
With the gale,
From the bay of Biscay O.