They'll Never See the Likes of Us Again

A professor of mine once defined poetry as “what we all have oft felt, but ne’er so well expressed.” This is actually a quote describing criticism from the great English writer Alexander Pope back in the early 1700’s. But I agree it is a great definition of poetry. We still have poets amongst us today, but most add music melody and rhythm to their works.

The beginning of technology ... truly the start of our modern age ... began with steam. Water power and mills too, but steam was portable, and brought the first great revolution in speed. Before the time of steam, the fastest one could travel was a galloping horse or perhaps a ship under full sail. But with steam came the train. These magnificent engines traveled faster than a horse and were able to move across land. But they did require a road of steel. The building of those steel roads during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century brought commerce and travel to the far reaches of nations.

Here are two poems that celebrate these great efforts and the men who gave their backs, their sweat, and their blood and very lives to build these modern modes of transportation. This was still the age of pick and shovel, and the work was hard and dangerous. Many lives were lost for each mile finished.

Sit back and enjoy these two poems and relive these tales of yesteryear and the accomplishments of our fore-bearers as talented songwriters tell of the railroad in England and Canada. What song would you suggest to represent the railroad builders who connected the East and West coasts of the U.S. ?

In the early 1800s, large groups of mainly unskilled labourers built England’s railways. the cost in human terms alone was very high... They’ll never see the likes of us again.

For Canada, the struggle was even greater as the majestic Rockies were climbed and conquered and vast forests were traversed. And many are the dead men too silent to be real.

Driving the Last Spike

by Michael Rutherford, Phil Collins, and Tony Banks.

Leaving my family behind me
Not knowing what lay ahead
Waving goodbye, as I left them in tears
Remembering all we’d said

I looked to the sky, I offered my prayers
I asked him for guidance and strength
But the simple beliefs of a simple man
Lay in his hands, and on my head

I gave everything that they wanted
But still they wanted more
We sweat and we toiled
Good men lost their lives
I don’t think they knew what for

I sold them my heart
I sold them my soul
I gave everything I had
Ah but they couldn’t break my spirit
My dignity fought back,

Can you hear me
Can you see
Don’t you hear me
Don’t you see

We worked in gangs for all we were worth
The young boys pulling the wagons
We were digging the tunnel, shifting the earth
It was then that it happened.

No-one knew how the cracks appeared
But as it fell they all disappeared
Stone fell like rain

Can you hear me,
Can you see
Don’t you hear me
Can you breathe

The smoke cleared, the dust it settled
No one knew how many had died
All around there were broken men
They’d said it was safe, they’d lied
You could hear the cries, you could smell the fear
But good fortune that day was mine
And it occurred to me the heart of a good man
It seems is hard to find.

Can you hear me,
Can you see
Don’t you hear me
Don’t you see

We worked, how we worked like
The devil for our pay
Through the wind, through the snow,
And through the rain

Blasting and cutting through gods country like a knife
Sweat stinging my eyes, there has to be a better life

Ah but I can hear my children’s cry
I can see the tears in their eyes
Memories of those Ive left behind
Still ringing in my ears
Will I ever go back again
Will I ever see her face again
Ill never forget that night
As they waved goodbye to their fathers

We came from the north,
And we came from the south
With picks and with spades
And a new kind of order
Showing no fear of what lies up ahead
They’ll never see the likes of us again

Driving the last spike,
Lifting and laying the track
With blistering hands,
The sun burning your back

Oh but I can hear my children’s cry
I can see the tears in their eyes
Memories of those Ive left behind
Still ringing in my ears
Well Ill always remember that night,
As they waved goodbye to their fathers

We followed the rail, we slept under the stars
Digging in darkness, and living with danger
Showing no fear of what lies up ahead
They’ll never see the likes of us again

Can you hear me
Can you see
Don’t you hear me
Don’t you see

Canadian Railroad Trilogy

by Gordon Lightfoot

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
But time has no beginnings and hist'ry has no bounds
As to this verdant country they came from all around
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tall
And they built the mines the mills and the factories for the good of us all

And when the young man's fancy was turnin' to the spring
The railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring
Their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day
And many a fortune lost and won and many a debt to pay

For they looked in the future and what did they see
They saw an iron road runnin' from sea to the sea
Bringin' the goods to a young growin' land
All up through the seaports and into their hands

Look away said they across this mighty land
From the eastern shore to the western strand
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We're gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Behind the blue Rockies the sun is declinin'
The stars, they come stealin' at the close of the day
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleeping
Beyond the dark oceans in a place far away

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Livin' on stew and drinkin' bad whiskey
Bendin' our old backs 'til the long days are done

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Layin' down track and buildin' the bridges
Bendin' our old backs 'til the railroad is done

So over the mountains and over the plains
Into the muskeg and into the rain
Up the St. Lawrence all the way to Gaspe
Swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay
Drivin' 'em in and tyin' 'em down
Away to the bunkhouse and into the town
A dollar a day and a place for my head
A drink to the livin' and a toast to the dead

Oh the song of the future has been sung
All the battles have been won
O'er the mountain tops we stand
All the world at our command
We have opened up the soil
With our teardrops and our toil

For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
And many are the dead men too silent to be real