The passengers knew about it,
The crew had told them well,
To say the least each one of them
Was simply scared as hell:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

The canyon walls grew dark and grim,
Signs of impending doom.
The passengers grew anxious,
Peering through the gloom:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

Vulcan’s Forge loomed ominous
And struck a deadly chill,
The weakest went a sickly green,
The bravest felt quite ill:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

They swept around the corner,
And heard a mighty roar,
A rapid of worse degree
Than they’d ever met before:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

A chill came off the water,
There yawned a gaping hole,
The whirlpools and the rocks combined
To daunt the bravest soul:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

The women screamed, the men just groaned,
They disappeared in spray,
A cold mist covered everything,
There wasn’t time to pray:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

They slid into the roiling flood
Foam and knuckles white,
There wasn’t a second chance to check,
If life vests were alright:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

A wave was towering over them,
The bow just disappeared,
The thunderous crash of water
Was much worse than they feared:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

Over the edge to the depths they went,
Cold waters sucked them in,
Thrown back and forth, from side to side,
How could they ever win?
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

The bow went down, the stern went up,
They hit a rock with an awful WHUP.
The bow went up, the stern went down,
The whole doomed boat went round and round:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

They lost their grip, they lost their gear,
They hit the water stiff with fear,
The sinking raft came hard about,
And the whole damn lot went tumbling out:
And the pilot leaned back in his chair.

One by one they floated through,
Their eyes were wild, their lips were blue,
Half-drowned, they turned from the banks to stare,
They couldn’ t believe what was floating there,
Bits of the boat that were scraped quite bare,
AND THE PILOT LEANING BACK IN HIS CHAIR!

Lola Elders,
Grand Canyon,
August 23 rd 1981