Gary, Indiana 1959 - Dave Alvin
I'm old weak and grey and i'm running out of time
Yeah but you should have seen me brother
When i was young and in my prime
Back in gary indiana in 1959
I was a steel working man with 2 kids and loving wife
And the union was strong smokestacks burning day and night
Back in gary indiana in 1959
But then the accountants and lawyers and bosses at u s steel
Sent down the word we had to take their rotten deal
But from birmingham to pueblo oakland to allentown
The workers got together and we shut the big boys down
The president and supreme court tried to force us off the line
Back in gary indiana in 1959
The 59 years disappeared in the blink of an eye
And i feel like a stranger in world that isn't mine
My dear wife died my kids all moved away
Cause there's nothing round here to make them want to stay
Cause the factories are in ruins decent jobs are hard to find
And you can't get ahead no matter how hard you try
Cause the big boys make the rules tough luck for everyone else
And out on the streets brother it's every man for himself
I still remember when we marched side by side
Back in gary indiana in 1959
Don't bury my body brother when it's my time to die
Just throw me in that smelter let my ashes fly
Back home to gary indiana in 1959
Back to gary indiana in 1959