REQUIEM AT SEA (TITANIC REQUIEM)


 
Requiem at Sea.
 
Text - Wolfgang Kater; traditional Requiem Introit (in italics)

 Chorus: Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine:
Olympians, they called you, born of Abraham's plains,
Peened, forged and cast by Ulster's pride.
You, middle child, blessed with beloved grace,
Upheld your charges on smooth glassy seas,
 Chorus: Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

The snow of Moses pressed to stone,
Gently caressed your starboard flank, 
Passing the bitter sponge by your lips,
Your clockwork Calvary commencing,
As you sank shrieking to the black abyss.
 Chorus: Te decet hymnus in Sion et tibi redetur votum in Jerusalem:

Fathom for soul you spiralled down,
To thunder softly into primordial mud,
For Challengers and all who have fallen
Out of sea or sky, forevermore,
Your shattered hull still points the way.
 Chorus: Exaudi orationem meam,

Rest in peace, oh my beloved,
Your still-born sister will comfort you,
On her side half a world away,
While Olympic bravely soldiers on,
To die dismantled on Scotland's shore.
 Chorus: Ad te omnis caro veniet. 

Are we condemned on our marbled globe?
The warnings ring out crystal clear.
Ice-fields loom large in our dark night,
Yet we press on. Full Steam Ahead!
To meet our fate in that cold pink dawn.	
 Chorus: Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, Domine