Son Volt Sultana Lyrics

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