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
When upon one fatal night

(CHORUS)
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

(CHORUS)

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

(CHORUS)

Eighteen men just as hard as nails
And as eager as a brand new bride
And as the clock on the
Tower said quarter of four
All eighteen had died

(CHORUS)

Steel men, ain't going back
To a wife and daughter
Steel men, living and dying by steel

Living and dying by steel
Living and dying by steel
Living and dying by steel