Mr Andrews’ Vision

[ANDREWS]
Just a cursory look at the blueprints here
Shows the weaknesses that we have missed
How the water poured in
A three-hundred-foot gash
And caused the bow to flood and to list

And then it filled to the top
Our separate watertight compartments
And began to overflow
Because the walls in-between the compartments
Are too low!
She's only sinking because these bulkheads
Stop a deck too low!

But here's a thought! Take the line
And extend up the walls to the brink
It's just a small redesign
But when it's done then I know she can't sink!
Like this! Like this!
Like this! Like this!...

The ship will start to plunge beneath the surface
The water lapping at our feet
Down sinks the bow, up flies the stern to the sky
The panicked people in retreat
A thousand strong, they'll climb up
Toward the aft deck
They'll cling there desperately
Like bees to a hive!
There they'll hold fast
Doomed to the last
Lost and abandoned and all still alive

A few of them will hang there
From the railings
As, one by one, they'll drop away!
More than two-hundred-fifty feet
They will fall
And after that, I cannot say
I will not say...

The rest, in swarms, will overrun the boat deck
They'll lose all sense of right and wrong
It will be every man for himself, all right!
The weak thrown in with the strong!

First class, and third, and second
Will mean nothing!
And sheer humanity alone will prevail -
One single class
Brute, harsh and crass
That's what will come of the world that set sail

Autumn...
Shall we all meet in the Autumn?
Shall we all meet in the Autumn?...