**(Verse 1)**
The sun hadn’t crested the smokestack line
When the yardmaster called out the loading time
Got a car full of iron, a car full of stone
And a heavy load for a working man’s bone
My hands are calloused, my boots are thin
But we’ll roll it all out, let the old wheels spin
**(Chorus)**
Yeah, it’s a heavy load, but the steel wheels roll
Past the crossroads towns and the river’s low
Every chain and coupling, every aching bone
Carries me forward, carries me home
Oh, it’s a heavy load... but it’s movin’ along
On these iron rails, right where I belong
**(Verse 2)**
We rolled through Memphis in the midnight rain
Saw a woman weepin’ on the platform again
She’s carryin’ sorrow, I’m carryin’ steel
Two heavy burdens that only time can mend
The engineer whistled through the howlin’ gale
Said, “Keep her on time, boys, don’t you fail!”
But a man’s got limits when the miles get long
And that heavy load starts to sing its own song
**(Chorus)**
Yeah, it’s a heavy load, but the steel wheels roll
Past the crossroads towns and the river’s low
Every chain and coupling, every aching bone
Carries me forward, carries me home
Oh, it’s a heavy load... but it’s movin’ along
On these iron rails, right where I belong
**(Bridge)**
I’ve hauled out coal and I’ve hauled out grain
I’ve hauled a coffin down a dusty lane
I’ve hauled a promise I swore I’d keep
Through the valley’s dark and the mountain’s steep
Yeah, the load may bend you, but it won’t break you down
As long as you’re aimin’ for a better town
**(Guitar/Fiddle Solo - 8 bars, steady train rhythm, harmonica trades phrases)**
**(Chorus)**
Yeah, it’s a heavy load, but the steel wheels roll
Past the crossroads towns and the river’s low
Every chain and coupling, every aching bone
Carries me forward, carries me home
Oh, it’s a heavy load... but it’s movin’ along
On these iron rails, right where I belong
**(Outro)**
*(Spoken-sung, rhythm slows like brakes applying)*
Well, the couplers are locked and the air’s let out
Got a heavy load, but I’m headin’ south...
Or north, depends on where the wind blows
And where a tired workman’s spirit goes
Chugga-chugga, never backin’ down
Heavy load on a railroad town...
Ain’t no mountain high enough to hold me...
Just a boxcar dream... and a heavy load...
*(Fiddle hums, acoustic strums fade, distant train whistle echoes, final guitar pick rings out)*