The Men of Monomoy

By Joe Cone

Dedicated to the Memory of the Life-Savers of Monomoy on Cape Cod, who were lost Monday, March 17, 1902.

Tell ye the story far and wide,

Ring out ye bells with mournful toll

For the valiant crew of Monomoy

Who sleep on Handkerchief Shoal.

Brave were the men of Monomoy

Who went with a willing hand

To bring their storm-wrecked fellow-men

Through the angry seas to land.

For the gale blew fierce, and the seas ran wild,

And the crew were all but lost,

But the boat sped on through the angry deep

Like a shell on the breakers tost.

True were the men of Monomoy,

Each true to his duty’s call;

No thought of self, no dread of death,

Eyes seaward, and that was all.

And the wreck was made, and the boat turned back,

When a monster wave swept o’er

And swallowed the boat of Monomoy,

And the crew were seen no more.

Dead are the men of Monomoy,

They sleep in a watery grave;

They rest upon the treach’rous shoal

With the men they sought to save.

And the storms sweep down, and the seas roll in,

And the ships their course pursue,

But the sea holds fast to its noble sons,

For it loves strong hearts and true.

Great are the men of Monomoy,

Men whose names shall never fade;

No soldiers on the battlefield

E’er nobler sacrifice made.

And proud are the wives of Monomoy,

Sons proud of their valiant dead;

And proud is the world of souls like theirs,

Whose glory shall ever spread.

Tell ye the story far and wide,

Ring out ye bells with mournful toll

For the valiant sons of Monomoy

Who sleep on Handkerchief Shoal.