Gandy Dancer
Take a gander at the gandy dancer
Wields his prybar like a Bengal Lancer
A lean muscled torso bronzed by the sun
This back-wrenching work favors the young
The garb of the gandy, he ain’t no dandy
Patched and soiled overalls – nothin’ fancy
Hands blackened from creosote pitch
Can’t rub his skin to scratch an itch
A soldier to defend the railroads domain
From the enemies of age and constant strain
Countless tons of weight in rolling stock
Heading to and fro ‘round the clock
Twin ribbons of steel cross-stitched in timbers
Stretches to the horizon on a carpet of cinders
Relentless pounding from massive trains
Targets the track with its downward aim
Replacing wooden ties that couldn’t last
Hammer in the spikes to hold em’ fast
Then shovel in the gravel to raise it level
This work surely inspired by the devil
I bend low to set the next spike
My back aches with each strike
I roll my wrists to rotate the swing
Hammer against steel begins to sting
Many beads of sweat form a constant drip
While I rotate my hammer at a steady clip
Bent over the hot steel rail as I drizzle
It hits the metal with a frying sizzle
This gandy pledges to the best of my ability
To protect the rail from the effects of gravity
But what is the weight that pins me here?
What burden so heavy it binds me near
The mighty locomotive propels the engineer
On brethren boxcars huddle hobos and steers
A conductor in caboose brings up the rear
All flaunt the freedom I hold so dear
Every hammer blow, each shovel of gravel
I safeguard the rail for others to travel
How many trains roll by each day
Always on the move, but here I stay
To what stake have I been shackled
In whose grasp do I seem tackled
What holds me here if not for fear
Renders me immobile year by year
I salute the wayfarers with a wave goodbye
And gaze into the distant expansive sky
