Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Lyrics

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run  
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun  
Long before the white man and long before the wheel  
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real  
  
But time has no beginnings and hist'ry has no bounds  
As to this verdant country they came from all around  
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tall  
And they built the mines the mills and the factories for the good of us  
All  
  
And when the young man's fancy was turnin' to the spring  
The railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring  
Their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day  
And many a fortune lost and won and many a debt to pay  
  
For they looked in the future and what did they see  
They saw an iron road runnin' from sea to the sea  
Bringin' the goods to a young growin' land  
All up through the seaports and into their hands  
  
Look away said they across this mighty land  
From the eastern shore to the western strand  
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails  
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails  
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow  
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow  
  
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails  
We're gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trails  
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow  
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow  
Get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow  
  
Behind the blue Rockies the sun is declinin'  
The stars, they come stealin' at the close of the day  
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleeping  
Beyond the dark oceans in a place far away  
  
We are the navvies who work upon the railway  
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun  
Livin' on stew and drinkin' bad whiskey  
Bendin' our old backs 'til the long days are done  
  
We are the navvies who work upon the railway  
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun  
Layin' down track and buildin' the bridges  
Bendin' our old backs 'til the railroad is done  
  
So over the mountains and over the plains  
Into the muskeg and into the rain  
Up the St. Lawrence all the way to Gaspe  
Swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay  
Drivin' 'em in and tyin' 'em down  
Away to the bunkhouse and into the town  
A dollar a day and a place for my head  
A drink to the livin' and a toast to the dead  
  
Oh the song of the future has been sung  
All the battles have been won  
O'er the mountain tops we stand  
All the world at our command  
We have opened up the soil  
With our teardrops and our toil  
  
For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run  
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun  
Long before the white man and long before the wheel  
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real  
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real  
And many are the dead men too silent to be real.