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My Little Shirtwaist Fire Lyrics
Once it started
The frail and fainthearted
Just withered to the floor
Oh, so sadly
We examined hands burned badly
By that which no man fears more.
The terrible flames of
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire
My best friend
Was alone in the alcove,
Does anyone see her there?
Such a sweet face
Trapped in a staircase
By the smell of her own burning hair and the
Terrible flames of
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire
Glow baby glow as the embers they died there,
Nobody knows what we saw inside there.
Twisting and burning, the girls' fine young bodies
Yes, we're burning can you help us please?
Yes, we're begging, we're on bended knees
Oh, My Little Shirtwaist Fire.
Girls work hard for
Small rewards or
Invatations to dine.
Or one kind word from
One who loves them but
What I have earned is mine-
The terrible flames of
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire
The frail and fainthearted
Just withered to the floor
Oh, so sadly
We examined hands burned badly
By that which no man fears more.
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire
Was alone in the alcove,
Does anyone see her there?
Trapped in a staircase
By the smell of her own burning hair and the
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire
Nobody knows what we saw inside there.
Twisting and burning, the girls' fine young bodies
Yes, we're begging, we're on bended knees
Oh, My Little Shirtwaist Fire.
Small rewards or
Invatations to dine.
One who loves them but
What I have earned is mine-
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire
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Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 killed 146 women in less than 15 minutes http://www.yale.edu/yup/ENYC/triangle_shirtwaist.html
I'm pretty sure it's "My best friend was alone in the end."
It is definitely 'alcove,' as
It is definitely 'alcove,' as
One of my friends, Annie Rosen, was an examiner on the ninth floor. She was near a window when the cry of fire was raised... she got it open and climbed on a little fire escape. The fire was coming up from the eighth floor and in getting from the ninth to the eighth her hat and her hair were burned.... (From "Washington Place Fire" Rosey Safran, The Independent 70, April 20, 1911)
One of my friends, Annie Rosen, was an examiner on the ninth floor. She was near a window when the cry of fire was raised... she got it open and climbed on a little fire escape. The fire was coming up from the eighth floor and in getting from the ninth to the eighth her hat and her hair were burned.... (From "Washington Place Fire" Rosey Safran, The Independent 70, April 20, 1911)
If you look at photos of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, you can see that the fire escape (there was only one) was...
If you look at photos of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, you can see that the fire escape (there was only one) was set into a small alcove in the side of the building. Also, it wasn't the end, since Annie Rosen lived.
Wow. I never knew that was what it was about. I thought it was about an arsonist who was so dissatisfied as to destroy everything because of, "Girls work hard for small rewards" etc, I thought that she was describing things that have been taken away from her so she burns down some place, especially because it says "MY little shirtwaiste fire..." I think this is beautiful and I love the part where she says, "Such a sweet face trapped in the staircase by the smell of her own burning hair."
I thought the same thing as the above person about the line "such a sweet face trapped in a staircase by the smell of her own burning hair.." until I found out what the song was about and could picture a girl of a ripe 13 trapped in a staircase or elevator shaft, not knowing what in the hell is going on and burning to death..
LOL, I knew this song was about the Triangle Factory fire. I heard it around the time we were learning about this in US history.
Wow a lot of people didn't pay attention in school.
Not paying attention in school has absolutely nothing to do with this song. Yes, it can be said it is about the triangle fire. However, if you've ever heard Melora or heard music, you'll know that the meaning is whatever the listener interprets it as and there are many possibilities as each person has a different history and background. They bring with them the knowledge that they know, therefore, the song means differernt things to different people. That's what makes this music beautiful <3
Not paying attention in school has absolutely nothing to do with this song. Yes, it can be said it is about the triangle fire. However, if you've ever heard Melora or heard music, you'll know that the meaning is whatever the listener interprets it as and there are many possibilities as each person has a different history and background. They bring with them the knowledge that they know, therefore, the song means differernt things to different people. That's what makes this music beautiful <3