[Beat & Pipa Intro] Hear that iron rhythm East side west side Two lines running at the same time Sacramento to Omaha Build the road and move the nation [Chorus] Lay that rail lay that rail East meets West on a steel lined trail Hammer hit hard let the whole land know One road rising where the wild winds blow Lay that rail lay that rail Through the heat through the ice through the mountain veil From coast to coast let the message transmit Last rail laid and the whole map clicked [Verse 1] Gold in the West but the buyers back East Without transportation that fortune decreased Boomtowns needed every tool every meal Wagons moved slow so the answer was steel Thirty five thousand miles on the track Grew past one fifty with no turning back Federal funding put land in the deal Sub-suh-deez paid for the labor and steel Millions of acres were placed in their hands Much of it taken from Native held lands Companies sold it to finance the lines More track meant money so both raced for miles Central pushed east where the sunrise would fade Union pushed west from the edge of the rails Two engines driving from opposite trails Chasing each other while laying the rails [Pre Chorus] Seventeen hundred miles across the map Hot plains deep rivers mountain caps Two crews moving till the distance collapsed Put the nation on the rails and never looked back [Chorus] Lay that rail lay that rail East meets West on a steel lined trail Hammer hit hard let the whole land know One road rising where the wild winds blow Lay that rail lay that rail Through the heat through the ice through the mountain veil From coast to coast let the message transmit Last rail laid and the whole map clicked [Verse 2] Union Pacific pushed west through the plains Irish immigrants working through the strain Black railroad workers put strength in the line Low pay long days still they kept it on time Central Pacific came east through stone Chinese crews turned the cliffs into roads Cut through forests made tunnels through granite Built through terrain that looked impossible to manage Summer brought heat and the winter brought ice Every new mile had a serious price Seven forty two through the hardest ground Central kept climbing when the mountains pushed down Union laid one thousand thirty eight Both sides building in a government race The bosses got credit and the companies grew But the line only moved from the hands of the crews [Pre Chorus] Seventeen hundred miles across the map Hot plains deep rivers mountain caps Two crews moving till the distance collapsed Put the nation on the rails and never looked back [Chorus] Lay that rail lay that rail East meets West on a steel lined trail Hammer hit hard let the whole land know One road rising where the wild winds blow Lay that rail lay that rail Through the heat through the ice through the mountain veil From coast to coast let the message transmit Last rail laid and the whole map clicked [Verse 3] May tenth eighteen sixty nine Promontory Summit where the two tracks aligned Chinese crew laid the last ten miles Closing that distance in record time Golden spike down and the telegraph sparked News crossed the nation like light through the dark Last rail laid and the last spike driven Atlantic to Pacific now the whole route connected Freight rolled east with the metals and grain Factory goods went west on the very same train Steel demand rose and the coal trade climbed Railcars construction all grew with the line Denver got bigger and new towns appeared Farmers and ranchers followed close to the rails Three transcontinental routes by eighty three The railroad redrew the economy [Bridge] But every town used to follow its sun No single clock told everyone when to run Boston stood eleven minutes ahead of New York That does not work when the trains share a course Four time zones came in eighteen eighty three One hour apart made the schedule agree Shipping costs dropped as the system improved The rails changed the clock and the way people moved [Final Chorus] Lay that rail lay that rail East meets West on a steel lined trail Hammer hit hard let the whole land know One road rising where the wild winds blow Lay that rail lay that rail Every worker left a mark on the trail From coast to coast let the message transmit Last rail laid and the whole map clicked [Outro] Steel through the valley Steel through the stone Cities got closer The nation got connected East side west side Now the same track runs home [Beat & Pipa Outro]
