& here was me thinking Chad Morgan wrote this song - thanks to JohnInKansas's new thread
When Does it Get to Be Folk? I went looking for the lyrics of George J. Gaskin's 1983 hit The Fatal Wedding

and found this Step into my time machine week 89

George J. Gaskin. Born in 1863, he became so popular in the close of the 19th century, he was known as "the Silver Voice Irish Tenor" (how's that for a catchy nickname?) Among the #1s he had this week were Slide Kelly Slide in 1892; The Fatal Wedding in 1894; The Sunshine Of Paradise Alley in 1896; On The Banks Of The Wabash in 1898; and My Old New Hampshire Home in 1899. He was the second act (by one day) to record commercially for Edison- the first being former slave George W. Johnson.

The Fatal Wedding. Whatever you're expecting, you're wrong:

The groom stood there waiting for his bride
The best man shiverin' by his side
On him the smell of stale sheep dip
And a flask of brandy on his hip
He knew he'd trod that last long mile
As his dear walked slowly down the isle
This was the day he was waiting for
When he'd get in for his cut and more
Of her old man's station and his gold
As soon as wedding bells had tolled
The fortune sure had smiled his way
This was indeed his lucky day
But the bride, she died at the alter
The bridegroom died next day
The parson dropped dead in the churchyard
As he was about to pray
The hearse capsized at the crossroads
It couldn't make the turn
And the people stood and cheered like mad
As they watched the old church burn
And then the heavens broke open
And the rain it started to fall
And the whole flamin' town got washed away
And there was no one le-eft at all...

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'Of her old man's station and his gold'

interesting point, tho - in Australia a 'station' is a big rural property (ranch) so it has always seemed a local song.

There is nothing in the Merriam-Webster definition of 'station' that fits this line.

One Of Life's Little Mysteries

sandra