Gordon Lightfoot: Canadian railroad trilogy

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not runWhen the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sunLong before the white man and long before the wheelWhen the green dark forest was too silent to be realBut time has no beginnings and histry has no boundsAs to this verdant country they came from all aroundThey sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tallAnd they built the mines the mills and the factories for the good of us allAnd when the young mans fancy was turnin to the springThe railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ringTheir minds were overflowing with the visions of their dayAnd many a fortune lost and won and many a debt to payFor they looked in the future and what did they seeThey saw an iron road runnin from sea to the seaBringin the goods to a young growin landAll up through the seaports and into their handsLook away said they across this mighty landFrom the eastern shore to the western strandBring in the workers and bring up the railsWe gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trailsOpen er heart let the life blood flowGotta get on our way cause were movin too slowBring in the workers and bring up the railsWere gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trailsOpen er heart let the life blood flowGotta get on our way cause were movin too slowGet on our way cause were movin too slowBehind the blue rockies the sun is declininThe stars, they come stealin at the close of the dayAcross the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleepingBeyond the dark oceans in a place far awayWe are the navvies who work upon the railwaySwingin our hammers in the bright blazin sunLivin on stew and drinkin bad whiskeyBendin our old backs til the long days are doneWe are the navvies who work upon the railwaySwingin our hammers in the bright blazin sunLayin down track and buildin the bridgesBendin our old backs til the railroad is doneSo over the mountains and over the plainsInto the muskeg and into the rainUp the st. lawrence all the way to gaspeSwingin our hammers and drawin our payDrivin em in and tyin em downAway to the bunkhouse and into the townA dollar a day and a place for my headA drink to the livin and a toast to the deadOh the song of the future has been sungAll the battles have been wonOer the mountain tops we standAll the world at our commandWe have opened up the soilWith our teardrops and our toilFor there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not runWhen the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sunLong before the white man and long before the wheelWhen the green dark forest was too silent to be realWhen the green dark forest was too silent to be realAnd many are the dead men too silent to be real