The Tay Bridge Disaster

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The Tay Bridge Disaster is an internationally-known poem by the Scottish poet William McGonagall, who has been widely acclaimed as the worst poet in British history.^[1] The poem recounts the events of the evening of December 28, 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it with the loss of all on board (now thought to be 75 people, not 90 as stated in the poem). The foundations of the bridge were not removed and are alongside the existing newer bridge.

The poem is by far the most famous ever written by McGonagall, and is still widely quoted. It begins:

"Beautiful railway bridge of the silv'ry Tay

Alas! I am very sorry to say

That ninety lives have been taken away

On the last sabbath day of 1879

Which shall be remembered for a very long time."

And it ends:

"Oh! Ill-fated bridge of the silv'ry Tay

I now must conclude my lay

By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay

That your central girders would not have given way

At least many sensible men do say

Had they been supported on each side with buttresses

At least many sensible men confesses

For the stronger we our houses build

The less chance we have of being killed"

William McGonagall wrote two other poems in praise of the Tay Bridge. The first one begins as follows:

The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay:

"Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay!

With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array,

And your central girders, which seem to the eye

To be almost towering to the sky"

After the original bridge collapsed, a new one was built, providing the opportunity for another poem, which begins:

An Address to the New Tay Bridge

"BEAUTIFUL new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay,

With your strong brick piers and buttresses in so grand array,

And your thirteen central girders, which seem to my eye

Strong enough all windy storms to defy."

[edit] See also

• List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tay Bridge Disaster poem in full

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Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Tay Bridge Disaster

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay