South Gone

1996 1997 West (Plymouth)

Volcanic activity increased throughout 1996, and in response, towns and villages in the south of the island were evacuated. A year later, on Boxing Day 1997, the collapse of the southern crater wall of Soufrière Hills Volcano (‘Galway’s Wall’) caused a lateral blast that removed the evacuated villages of southwest Montserrat overnight. The song ‘South Gone’ commemorates this moment.

South Gone (Zunky 'n Dem)

‘I used to hear people say that it’s on holiday / Big one’s come
We had a fine Christmas day / Incident free and warm
But foreday Boxing day / Few really know what went on
Suffice it to say the news was / South gone

Less than one week before / Observers had checked the scene
It was the greenest they say / The south has ever been
From a flourishing bed / To a landscape all forlorn
Nature’s fury was spread / The whole of south it gone

From OGarro’s to Reid’s Hill sugar mill / South gone (gone)
Morris, Sea View, and Shooter’s Hill / Gone (gone)
Lime Ghaut, Still Valley and Tobby Hill / All gone (gone)
What a pity to see Safari City gone.

Landmarks like Great Alps Waterfall and White Wall gone.
Villages like Gingoes, Trial and Fairfield / Gone
Historical sites like Galways and Brodericks / Gone
What a pity to see Safari City gone.’

– Song 'South Gone' by Zunky 'n Dem

This photo was taken from the helicopter and shows the southwest of the island covered in deposits from the Galway's Wall collapse on 26 December 1996. You can just about make out the scientist on the edge of the new fan created overnight by the deposit. Credit: Jenni Barclay

The song mentions Safari City, which refers to the former town of St. Patrick’s on the southwest coast. A resident describes the shock of seeing St. Patrick’s destroyed:

‘South Gone’ also mentions several landmarks in the south of the island, including the Great Alps Waterfall, a popular tourist attraction. The waterfall had been destroyed by a pyroclastic flow on 30 March 1997.