C & O CANAL LINE
(John Starling)

Up from the night in the shanty saloons
He remembers the night of the boatman's tunes
It's all a part of the boatman's soul
As the smell of the dust
Of the Cumberland coal

With a three-mule team he winds his way
Through the Pawpaw Tunnel, about mid-day
Passing locks in the rain and fog
His thoughts on nights
At the Salty Dog

Hey, hey, hey -- lock ready!
Oh, hey -- hey, lock!
These words like the lock-house, covered in time
Live on for us in an old man's mind
Never, no more, on the C & O Canal Line
Mm-mm-mm

Doomed by the rail from the very start
His boat still lives in the people's heart
We've a debt to pay and a promise to keep
To save his way
From an endless sleep

Hey, hey, hey -- lock ready!
Oh, hey -- hey, lock!
These words like the lock-house, covered in time
Live on for us in an old man's mind
Never, no more, on the C & O Canal Line
Mm-mm-mm

Copyright John Starling
@canal
filename[ COCANAL
JN
mudcat.org

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