Youngstown

here in north east ohio back in eighteen oh three
james and danny heaton found the ore that was lining yellow creek
they built a blast furnace here along the shore
and they made the cannon balls that helped the union win the war

here in youngstown here in youngstown
my sweet jenny i'm sinking down here darling in youngstown

well my daddy worked the furnaces kept them hotter than hell
i come home from 'nam worked my way to scarfer a job that'd suit the devil as well
taconite coke and limestone fed my children and made my pay
then smokestacks reaching like the arms of god into a beautiful sky of soot and clay

well my daddy come on the ohio works when he come home from world war two
now the yards just scrap and rubble he said "them big boys did what hitler couldn't do"
these mills they built the tanks and bombs that won this country's wars
we sent our sons to korea and vietnam now we're wondering what they were dying for

from the monongahela valley to the mesabi iron range
to the coal mines of appalacchia the story's always the same
seven hundred tons of metal a day now sir you tell me the world's changed
once i made you rich enough rich enough to forget my name

when i die i don't want no part of heaven i would not do heaven's work well
i pray the devil comes and takes me to stand in the fiery furnaces of hell