(Verse 1) Out of the shops in Cheyenne town A rolling mountain of iron comes down One point two million pounds of steel Driven by the power of the eight-couple wheels Built back in forty-one for the wartime strain Now she’s waking up the echoes on the track again To honor the land of the brave and the free From the Rocky Mountains to the shining sea (Chorus) Roll on, Big Boy, hit the main line track Twelve hundred miles and you ain't looking back For the red, white, and blue, and the USA two-fifty Highball through the canyons, rolling fast and thrifty Hear the whistle blow, feel the engine roar Coast to coast for America’s birthday tour! (Verse 2) She conquered Peru Hill with a heavy blast Then down through the desert where the shadows cast Salt Lake City saw the crowds line the rail Before she blazed a path on the Western Pacific trail Through the Feather River Canyon where the rockslides hide With a high-rail escort right by her side To Sacramento’s yard under California skies Where the steam meets the sun and the embers rise (Chorus) Roll on, Big Boy, hit the main line track Fourteen states wide and you ain't looking back For the red, white, and blue, and the USA two-fifty Highball through the canyons, rolling fast and thrifty Hear the whistle blow, feel the engine roar Coast to coast for America’s birthday tour! (Bridge) (Tempo slows slightly, building in intensity with a heavy drum beat) Conductor Ed Dickens handles the throttle with pride With the heritage diesel riding right alongside Number seventeen-seventy-six leads the way Bringing history alive for this modern day From the cornfields of Iowa to West Chicago steam To Scranton and Jim Thorpe, she's a living dream Passing through Ohio, Kansas, and the Hoosier line Every single whistle stop keeping perfectly on time! (Guitar and Harmonica Solo - Fast and energetic, mimicking a speeding train) (Verse 3) Now she's racing past the prairies, rolling east to the dawn To the birthplace of the nation where the spark was drawn On the Fourth of July, under Liberty's bell In old Philadelphia, what a story to tell Two hundred and fifty years of standing strong And forty-fourteen is chugging right along! (Chorus) Roll on, Big Boy, hit the main line track Coast to coast and you ain't looking back For the red, white, and blue, and the USA two-fifty Highball through the canyons, rolling fast and thrifty Hear the whistle blow, feel the engine roar Coast to coast for America’s birthday tour! (Outro) Heading back home to the Cheyenne yard You worked the high iron and you worked it hard Godspeed, Big Boy, you're the pride of the rail The greatest steam giant to ever tell the tale (Long, fading locomotive whistle sound) Roll on... Roll on...
