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)