Through the years he toiled
Working the railroad
Stoking the coke-fed fires
From dusk to the dawn
Pulling a heavy load
Till the day he retired
From the dreams of his youth
To the pain of his final years
One simple truth remained
He never stopped loving his sweet Loretta
A pure love that time sustained
Like his father before him
He worked every day
With passion that true love inspired
From barren cold winters
Through warm summer rain
Fueled by his hearts desire
Fueled by his hearts desire
Now those years he toiled
Working the railroad
From nineteen and thirty-one
Left him believing that hope was eternal
Like gold in the morning sun
Like gold in the morning sun
Like his father before him
He worked every day
With passion that true love inspired
From barren cold winters
Through warm summer rain
Fueled by his hearts desire
Fueled by his hearts desire
Forged in American steel
Strong as the man it revealed
Through the years he toiled
Working the railroad
Stoking the coke-fed fires
From dusk to the dawn
Pulling a heavy load
Till the day he retired
Till the day he retired