Steel Men

Steel men, hey

Working on a bridge of steel

Working on a bridge of steel

Out on the rocky western coast of Vancouver by the sea

At a place that's known as Second Narrows they were building a bridge of steel

Well, they hammered and they cut and they riveted and the welding torches were bright

Making a strap on a river's back, went on pourin' from day till night

Steel men (hey)

Working on a bridge to cross (that water)

Steel men (ho)

Working on a bridge of steel

Well, it happened on the eighteenth day of June back in nineteen-fifty plus eight

People were fishing from the shore, the day was getting late

Now the wind was tugging at the maple trees but a steel man knows no fear

If somebody wanted to bridge the Pacific, well, a steel man would be there

Steel men (hey)

Working on a bridge to cross (that water)

Steel men (ho)

Working on a bridge of steel

Well, all of a sudden, now, the wind picked up and it blew as hard as it could

And that steel bridge swayed like a leaf in the breeze and it snapped like a stick of wood

Now the girders buckled and the rivets broke and the water heard the cry

And that steel bridge shook off the working men like a hounddog shakes off flies

Steel men (hey)

Working on a bridge to cross (that water)

Steel men (ho)

Working on a bridge of steel

Eighteen men just as hard as nails and as eager as a brand-new bride

And as the clock on the tower said a quarter-to-four, all eighteen had died

Steel men (hey)

Working on a bridge to cross (that water)

Steel men (ho)

Working on a bridge of steel

Steel men (hey)

Ain't going back to a wife and daughter

Steel men (ho)

Living and dying by steel

Living and dying by steel (hey)

Living and dying by steel (hey)