Lyrics

[Verse]
The whistle blows at half past four,
Another day in the dust and ore,
Since Luke and Chase left the grind,
This old mine ain't running fine.

[Verse 2]
Joe's been working double shifts,
His old back aching, bones adrift,
The foreman cries, "we're falling behind,"
While sweat beads down on weary minds.

[Chorus]
Can't keep the quarry running straight,
With half the boys gone, it sealed our fate,
Working like slaves, breaking our backs,
Still this mine's riding off the tracks.

[Verse 3]
Rusty tools and tired hands,
Dreams of green and fertile land,
But here we stay, chained by the debt,
The land we love won't free us yet.

[Verse 4]
In the tavern where the shadows play,
We sing of Luke who went away,
Chase took dreams to distant shores,
Left us fighting this losing war.

[Chorus]
Can't keep the quarry running straight,
With half the boys gone, it sealed our fate,
Working like slaves, breaking our backs,
Still this mine's riding off the tracks.