In the eyes of the old ones Who watched from a distance It was a devilish magic at best But the hearts of the children Were filled with excitement As they dreamed of their house in the West Oh the engine would fire the black smoke would rise Thru the spray of the slick silver steam It was something of wonder that steel plated thunder That moved the American dream That moved the American dream I can hear the sleepy whistle blowin' I can see the spark beneath the wheels As the leaves the hills behind her For the ragged cotton fields In a dusty one-house station All the children grow impatient As they stare into the distance for a sign Here she comes can't you hear her whistle whine Here she comes rollin' in my bloodline Running' in my bloodline Old man Grady waves his lantern "All on board" I hear him cry While Lucius stokes the cinder And wipes the coal dust from his eyes Yes she was prowd and full of fire As she road that silver wire >From the Kansas Plains to the great Sierra Pine Here she comes can't you hear the whistle whine Here she comes rollin' in right on time I can feel her she's runnin' in my bloodline Runnin' in my bloodline Here she comes Now the stockyards are empty The steel rails are rusted They belong to the wind and the sand But we long will remember The steel and the timber And the pulse that once beat thru this land Oh the engine would fire the black smoke would rise Thru the spray of the slick silver steam It was something of wonder that steel plated thunder That moved the American dream That moved the American dream The American dream Dream
