Ballad of Minnie Quay
​

​1.
'Twas long ago besides Lake Huron,
She walked the sandy shore.
Where the voice of one sweet Minnie Quay,
'Twill echo ever more.

2.
Sailors still hear her crying,
Young lovers hear her, too.
As she calls for them to join her,
In the waters, icy blue.

3.
Young Minnie loved a sailor,
The sailor loved her, too.
And on the shore behind the trees,
The pair would rendezvous.

4.
But gossips soon got wind of it,
And tongues began to wag.
The tale was told to Minnie's Ma,
By some old babbling hag.

5.
Minnie's Ma was angry,
And to her daughter said,
"Married to a sailor?
I'd rather see you dead."

6.
They knew that she'd been sneaking out,
To see the lad at night.
They boarded up her bedroom door,
And kept her locked in tight.

7.
He waited for his love in vain,
A tear was in his eye.
When he set sail the next morning,
Without kissing her goodbye.

8.
He never saw his love again,
For alas, a storm arose.
That raging gale sank many ships,
And his was one of those.

9.
The ship that carried Minnie's love,
Sank like it was lead.
And when the news reached Forester,
They said that he was dead.

10.
Minnie wore a dress of white,
She looked just like a bride.
She plunged into the water deep,
To die there by his side.

11.
But Minnie Quay is not at rest,
Or so the people say.
Her ghost still walks the lonely shore.
Some see her to this day.