Livin' on stew and drinkin' bad whiskey
For they looked in the future and what did they see
On the mountain tops we stand
For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
Into the muskeg and into the rain
A drink to the livin' and a toast to the dead
Beyond the dark oceans in a place far away
Bendin' our old backs till the long days are done
All up from the seaports and into their hands
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
So over the mountains and over the plains
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleeping
We are the navies who work upon the railway
Just swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay
Away to the bunkhouse and into the town
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tall
A dollar a day and a place for my head
But look away said they across this mighty land
But time has no beginnings and history has no bounds
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Oh the song of the future has been sung
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
Built the mines, the mills and the factories for the good of us all
Bringin' the goods to a young growin' land
All the battles have been won
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
Then the railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring
And when the young man's fancy are turnin' to the spring
And long before the white man and long before the wheel
Open their heart let the life blood flow
Drivin' 'em in and tyin' 'em down
We have opened up the soil
All the world at our command
We are the navies who work upon the railway
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
Were for many a fortune the won and lost and many a debt to pay
Get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
They saw an iron road runnin' from the sea to the sea
Up the St. Lawrence all the way to Gaspe
Layin' down track and buildin' the bridges
The stars they come stealin' at the close of the day
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
We're gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
From the eastern shore to the western strand
But their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Open their heart let the life blood flow
Bendin' our old backs till the railroad is done
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
With our teardrops and our toil
Behind the blue rockies the sun is declinin'
As to this verdant country they came from all around
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
