The Heavy Pail

[Intro]
[Verse]
Walk slow boy, watch your feet
Cracks in the concrete, heat in the street
This mill used to breathe fire and smoke
Now it’s just a ghost, a cruel joke
Your great-grandpa stood right here
Through every hard and heavy year
[Pre-Chorus]
The organ moans low
Where the wild weeds grow
Can you hear the steel ring?
Can you hear the choir sing?
[Chorus]
Carry the pail, hold it tight
It survived the dark and the light
Rust on the handle, gold in the soul
Keeping our broken spirits whole
The furnace is cold, but the story is old
And it’s the purest truth ever told
[Verse]
Look at that brick, chipped and grey
Worn down by the rain of yesterday
He kept his sandwich in a tin
With a heart that never let the cold in
The town went quiet when the gates shut
Like a deep and jagged open cut
[Chorus]
Carry the pail, hold it tight
It survived the dark and the light
Rust on the handle, gold in the soul
Keeping our broken spirits whole
The furnace is cold, but the story is old
And it’s the purest truth ever told
[Bridge]
Lift your chin up, don't you bow
You’re the one who owns the future now
The blood in your veins is molten lead
Forged by the words the old men said
Hallelujah in the grime
Standing on the edge of time
[Chorus]
Carry the pail, hold it tight
It survived the dark and the light
Rust on the handle, gold in the soul
Keeping our broken spirits whole
The furnace is cold, but the story is old
And it’s the purest truth ever told
[Post-Chorus]
Hold on, son
The work is never done
Your hands are strong
Where you belong
Hold on, son
Until the race is won
[Outro]