Lyrics: [Quiet Acoustic Folk Intro] [Verse 1] There’s an old iron wheel lying deep in the grass Where the glorious days of the industry pass It’s flaking and orange, broken and still Resting forever at the foot of the hill But look through the spokes where the metal is torn A bright purple flower is proudly reborn [Pre-Chorus] The past and the present, the hard and the sweet Growing together right under our feet. [Chorus] [Distorted Guitars Explode] It’s the rust and the thistle! The beauty and the pain! We survive the winter, we drink up the rain! The steel might crumble and the factories fall But the wild Scottish thistle outlives it all! Yeah, the wild Scottish thistle outlives it all! [Verse 2] We honor the ghosts of the smoke and the sweat The blood of our fathers we’ll never forget But we look to the horizon, the sky is so clear There’s nothing but hope in the atmosphere We’re tough as the iron, but alive as the weed Growing the future from a resilient seed. [Chorus] It’s the rust and the thistle! The beauty and the pain! We survive the winter, we drink up the rain! The steel might crumble and the factories fall But the wild Scottish thistle outlives it all! Yeah, the wild Scottish thistle outlives it all! [Bagpipe and Guitar Dual Solo] [Massive Wall of Sound] [Bridge] Let the rust flake away! Let the new colors stay! [Chorus] It’s the rust and the thistle! The beauty and the pain! We survive the winter, we drink up the rain! The steel might crumble and the factories fall But the wild Scottish thistle outlives it all! [Outro] [Acoustic Guitar Returns] Outlives it all. [Fade Out]
