[INTRO – HARMONICA] [LOW, SOULFUL HARMONICA] [BUBBA – SPOKEN] There was a time when Pittsburgh’s mills lit up the night. And there was a generation that built more than steel. They built a city. [VERSE 1 – BUBBA] From the mill to the hill, From the river to the street, There were working men and women who never knew defeat. They’d rise before the sunrise, Come home after dark, With steel upon their hands and fire inside their hearts. [VERSE 2 – DARLENE] Mama kept the supper warm, Daddy worked the line, Children learned that honest work was something you could pride. The neighborhood was family, The front doors stayed unlocked, And everybody knew the whistle when the working day was done. [CHORUS – BOTH] From the mill to the hill, Pittsburgh carries on. The old days may be gone, But the spirit isn’t gone. Steel may change, The river still flows, And the heart of Pittsburgh still knows where it goes. From the mill to the hill, We remember who we are. [HARMONICA FILL] [VERSE 3 – BUBBA] There were sparks against the darkness, There was smoke above the town, There were men who built their futures with their heads and shoulders down. They didn’t ask for easy, They didn’t ask for much, Just a day’s honest wages and a family they could trust. [VERSE 4 – DARLENE] And the children grew up watching, Learning from their hands, Learning that a person’s worth ain’t measured by their plans. It’s measured by their character, By how they treat a friend, And whether when the hard times come, They stand until the end. [CHORUS – BOTH] From the mill to the hill, Pittsburgh carries on. The old days may be gone, But the spirit isn’t gone. Steel may change, The river still flows, And the heart of Pittsburgh still knows where it goes. From the mill to the hill, We remember who we are. [HARMONICA SOLO] [EMOTIONAL BLUES HARMONICA] [BRIDGE – CALL & RESPONSE] [BUBBA] Who built the bridges? [DARLENE] Working hands. [BUBBA] Who raised the families? [DARLENE] Working hands. [BUBBA] Who stayed through the hard times? [DARLENE] Working hearts. [BOTH] And who carries it forward? [DARLENE] We do. [VERSE 5 – BUBBA] Now the mills may stand quiet, And the skyline has changed, But the stories of those people will never be erased. You can hear them in the neighborhoods, You can feel them in the town, In every Pittsburgh family that keeps the old ways around. [VERSE 6 – BOTH] [BUBBA] So here’s to every father— [DARLENE] Here’s to every mother— [BUBBA] Here’s to every worker— [DARLENE] Here’s to one another. [BOTH] Here’s to every Pittsburgh child who grows up knowing why Those rivers and those bridges mean more than meets the eye. [FINAL CHORUS – FULL] From the mill to the hill, Pittsburgh carries on. The old days may be gone, But the spirit isn’t gone. Steel may change, The river still flows, And the heart of Pittsburgh still knows where it goes. From the mill to the hill, Let the old stories ring. From the working man’s hands came a beautiful thing. Not just steel, Not just stone, But a city people called home. [YODEL – BUBBA] Yodel-ay-ee… Yodel-ay-oh… From the mill! [DARLENE] To the hill! [YODEL – BOTH] Yodel-ay-ee… Yodel-ay-ay… Pittsburgh still! [OUTRO – SPOKEN] [BUBBA] Darlene? [DARLENE] Yes? [BUBBA] Steel built Pittsburgh. [DARLENE] And the people kept it alive. [BUBBA] That’s right. [HARMONICA – WARM FINAL RIFF] [BOTH – SOFT] From the mill to the hill… Pittsburgh carries on. [SFX: Distant river, evening city ambience] [FADE OUT]
