Send away your prayers Hammer down the nails Do the same tomorrow A penny for your pain Another mile of rails Another unblessed day Your back is bent, fingers hurt Your mouth is full of dirt Over mountain and lake so blue We'll take the iron mule In a year and a day The railway must come through Inch by inch, like a snail so slow Soon the iron mule will glow From the southern shores To the harbors of the north Twenty-one and old Winter wind is cold Lungs they bleed for the iron mule To make way for the new Fever makes you weak You cry yourself to sleep Arms they keep on pounding on Sledge it weighs a ton Over mountain and lake so blue We'll take the iron mule In a year and a day The railway must come through Inch by inch, like a snail so slow Soon the iron mule will glow From the southern shores To the harbors of the north Twenty-one and old Winter wind is cold Lungs they bleed for the iron mule To make way for the new Fever makes you weak You cry yourself to sleep Arms they keep on pounding on Sledge it weighs a ton Over mountain and lake so blue We'll take the iron mule In a year and a day The railway must come through Inch by inch, like a snail so slow Soon the iron mule will go In sun and rain From now and ever on