Once it started the frail and fainthearted   Just withered to the floor   Oh, so sadly we examined hands burned badly   By that which no man fears more   The terrible flames of all that remains   Of my little shirtwaist fire      My best friend was alone in the alcove   Does anyone see her there?   Such a sweet face trapped in a staircase   By the smell of her own burning hair   And the terrible flames of all that remains   Of my little shirtwaist fire      Glow baby glow as the embers they died there   Nobody knows what we saw inside there   Twisting and burning the girls' fine young bodies   Yes, we're burning can you help us please?   Yes, we're begging, we're on bended knees   Oh, my little shirtwaist fire      Girls work hard for small rewards   Or invitations to dine   Or one kind word from one who loves them   But what I have earned is mine   The terrible flames of all that remains   Of my little shirtwaist fire      Glow baby glow as the embers they died there   Nobody knows what we saw inside there   Twisting and burning, the girls' fine young bodies   Yes, we're burning can you help us please?   Yes, we're begging, we're on bended knees   Oh, my little shirtwaist fire