HARDWOOD AND HEAVY IRON (OUTLAW COUNTRY) - Levi Stoker
Candles floating in the morning light
Sawmill humming before the dawn turns bright
My granddaddy worked the timber, my old man worked the steel
Living on the edge of what the hands can feel
Hardwood timber from the deep swamp bayou
Heavy iron beams from a forge in Chicago
They say a man is made of water, bone and skin
But it's the timber and the metal holding us within
You can cut down the tree
You can melt down the frame
But you can't wash away the fire
Burning in the name of
Hardwood and heavy iron
Holding up the line
Standing like a mountain
At the edge of time
When the storm comes howling
Through the southern pines
We bend but we don't break
By the grand design
Yes, hardwood and heavy iron
It's hardwood and heavy iron
It's hardwood and heavy iron
Hardwood and heavy iron
Sweat dripping down on the heartland floor
Counting up the hours by the factory door
Mom was at the table with the ledger and a pen
Trying to stretch a dollar where the ends won't bend
We built the ships, we laid the track
Carrying the world on an aching back
You can cut down the tree
You can melt down the frame
But you can't wash away the fire
Burning in the name of
Hardwood and heavy iron
Holding up the line
Standing like a mountain
At the edge of time
When the storm comes howling
Through the southern pines
We bend but we don't break
By the grand design
Yes, hardwood and heavy iron
They go make men out of soft oak wood
They build them out of grit where the stand was good
Through the heat of the forge and the bite of the cold
This is the story that the bloodline told
It's hardwood and heavy iron
Holding up the line
Standing like a mountain
At the edge of time
When the storm comes howling
Through the southern pines
We bend but we don't break
By the grand design
Yes, hardwood and heavy iron
Hardwood and heavy iron
Standing tall
Deep in the southern soil
