The Word Of An Engineer
'She's built of steel
From deck to keel,
And bolted strong and tight;
In scorn she'll sail
The fiercest gale,
And pierce the darkest night.
'The builder's art
Has proved each part
Throughout her breadth and length;
Deep in the hulk,
Of her mighty bulk,
Ten thousand Titans' strength.'
The tempest howls,
The Ice Wolf prowls,
The winds they shift and veer,
But calm I sleep,
And faith I keep
In the word of an engineer.
Along the trail
Of the slender rail
The train, like a nightmare, flies
And dashes on
Through the black-mouthed yawn
Where the cavernous tunnel lies.
Over the ridge,
Across the bridge,
Swung twixt the sky and hell,
On an iron thread
Spun from the head
Of the man in a draughtsman's cell.
And so we ride
Over land and tide,
Without a thought of fear—
Man never had
The faith in God
That he has in an engineer!
poem by James Weldon Johnson
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The Republic
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on the fate!
We know what Master laid the keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
'Tis of the wave and not the rock;
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee, - are all with thee!
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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O Ship of State
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
'Tis of the wave and not the rock;
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee.
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee, -are all with thee!
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Miracles
I sent a message to my dear --
A thousand leagues and more to Her --
The dumb sea-levels thrilled to hear,
And Lost Atlantis bore to Her.
Behind my message hard I came,
And nigh had found a grave for me;
But that I launched of steel and flame
Did war against the wave for me.
Uprose the deep, by gale on gale,
To bid me change my mind again --
He broke his teeth along my rail,
And, roaring, swung behind again.
I stayed the sun at noon to tell
My way across the waste of it;
I read the storm before it fell
And made the better haste of it.
Afar, I hailed the land at night --
The towers I built had heard of me --
And, ere my rocket reached its height,
Had flashed my Love the word of me.
Earth sold her chosen men of strength
(They lived and strove and died for me)
To drive my road a nation's length,
And toss the miles aside for me.
I snatched their toil to serve my needs --
Too slow their fleetest flew for me --
I tired twenty smoking steeds,
And bade them bait a new for me.
I sent the lightnings forth to see
Where hour by hour She waited me.
Among ten million one was She,
And surely all men hated me!
Dawn ran to meet me at my goal --
Ah, day no tongue shall tell again!
And little folk of little soul
Rose up to buy and sell again!
poem by Rudyard Kipling
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Eve- Song
I span and Eve span
A thread to bind the heart of man;
But the heart of man was a wandering thing
That came and went with little to bring:
Nothing he minded what we made,
As here he loitered, and there he stayed.
I span and Eve span
A thread to bind the heart of man;
But the more we span the more we found
It wasn't his heart but ours we bound.
For children gathered about our knees:
The thread was a chain that stole our ease.
And one of us learned in our children's eyes
That more than man was love and prize.
But deep in the heart of one of us lay
A root of loss and hidden dismay.
He said he was strong. He had no strength
But that which comes of breadth and length.
He said he was fond. But his fondness proved
The flame of an hour when he was moved.
He said he was true. His truth was but
A door that winds could open and shut.
And yet, and yet, as he came back,
Wandering in from the outward track,
We held our arms, and gave him our breast,
As a pillowing place for his head to rest.
I span and Eve span,
A thread to bind the heart of man!
poem by Dame Mary Gilmore
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Man Of Steel
Woman (Spoken):
Touch me
I'm so afraid to draw you close
Hold me
Before my hands fall away
I'll suffocate
If I can't breathe you in
And hold you there
Forever
Meatloaf:
I left a message at the hotel
They said you checked out
They said you ain't coming back
I tried to call you
But you turned off your cell
And it said at the tone
Just leave me alone
And I fall apart at the seams
It seems that I always, always fall apart
But as strong as I am
Why can't I break you heart?
I remember how it used to be
Making love to you all night long
I used to take you in my arms
And hold you there until all my strength was gone
I used to be a man of steel
I used to be a man of steel
I built this prison that I thought was a home
And we both lived here
Guess you were living alone
I'd tear it down if you would only have asked
And I would build you a bridge
So you could come back
And I fall apart at the seams
It seems that I always, always fall apart
But as strong as I am
Why can't I break you heart?
I remember how it used to be
Making love to you all night long
I used to take you in my arms
And hold you there until all you fears were gone
I used to be a man of steel
I used to be a man of steel
I used to be a man of steel
I used to be a man of steel
I used to take you in my arms
Girl:
Hey, now tell me why can't you just
Break my heart?
Meatloaf:
I used to be a man of steel
And I used to take you in my arms
Girl:
I love you right from the start
Now you can't tear my world apart
Meatloaf:
I used to be a man of steel
Now every bit of faith is gone
Girl:
You used to be so strong
Now you can't even break my heart
Meatloaf:
I used to be a man of steel
I used to take you in my arms
What's it going to take for us to break down?
And finally fall
Girl: Fall
Meatloaf & Girl:
Apart at the seams
It seems that I always fall apart
Girl: As strong as you are
Meatloaf: As strong as I am...
Girl: Why can't you break my...
Meatloaf & Girl: Heart
song performed by by Meat Loaf
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mighty Mighty
Maurice white & verdine white
Walk around, why wear a frown
Say little people, try to put you down
What you need, a helpin hand
All the strength, at your command
Hows ya faith? cause ya faith is you
Who you kiddin, to yourself be true
Spread ya love, for a brighter day
For what ya search, youll find a way
We are people, of the mighty
Mighty people of the sun
In our hearts lies all the answers
To the truth you cant run from
Eagle flies, every seven days
Still cryin the blues, all about ya pay
What ya gonna do? bout your living thang
Will ya make it better, or just complain
Everday is real, dont run from fear
Cause better days are very near
There are times when you are bound to cry
One more time, head to the sky
We are people, of the mighty
Mighty people of the sun
In our hearts lies all the answers
To the truth you cant run from
song performed by by Earth Wind And Fire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet: True Faith
Yes, faith can lift a mountain from its base!
Yes, faith can turn a river off its course;
Yes, faith can win an impossible race!
Yes, faith can calm a lion as he roars!
Sure, faith can do impossible a thing!
Sure, faith can hold a marriage till the end!
Sure, faith can well a happy ending bring!
Sure, faith can truly iron bars too bend!
True faith can make a friendship very strong!
True faith unites two lovers tie the knot!
True faith can make miles look like one furlong!
True faith can win a war although ill-fought!
None can afford to lose faith since their birth,
And faith in God is what we need on earth.
poem by John Celes
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Steel Rail Blues
Well I got my mail late last night
A letter from a girl who found the time to write
To her lonesome boy somewhere in the night
She sent me a railroad ticket too
To take me to her loving arms
And the big steel rail
Gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well I been out here many a long days
I haven't found a place that I could call my own
Not a two bit bed to lay my body on
I been stood up I been shook down
I bin dragged into the sand
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well I been up tight most every night
Walking along the streets of this old town
Not a friend to tell my troubles to
My good old car she done broke down
'Cause I drove it into the ground
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well look over yonder across the plain
The big drive wheels a-pounding along the ground
Gonna get on board and I'll be homeward bound
Now I ain't had a home cooked meal
And Lord I need one now
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Now here I am with my head in the sand
Standing on the broad highway will you give a ride
To a lonesome boy who missed the train last night
I went in town for one last round
And I gambled my ticket away
And the big steel rail won't carry me home to the one I love
song performed by by Jim Croce
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.
quote by Corrie Ten Boom
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Song Of The Rail
Oh, an ugly thing is an iron rail,
Black, with its face to the dust.
But it carries a message where winged things fail;
It crosses the mountains, and catches the trail,
While the winds and the sea make sport of a sail;
Oh, a rail is a friend to trust.
The iron rail, with its face to the sod,
Is only a bar of ore;
Yet it speeds where never a foot has trod;
And the narrow path where it leads, grows broad;
And it speaks to the world in the voice of God;
That echoes from shore to shore.
Though the iron rail, on the earth down flung,
Seems kin to the loam and the soil,
Wherever its high shrill note is sung,
Out of the jungle fair homes have sprung,
And the voices of babel find one tongue,
In the common language of toil.
Of priest, and warrior, and conquering king,
Of Knights of the Holy Grail,
Of wonders of winter, and glories of spring,
Always and ever the poets sing;
But the great God-Force, in a lowly thing,
I sing, in my song of the rail.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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Steel Rail Blues
Well I got my mail late last night
A letter from a girl who found the time
To write
To her lonesome boy somewheres in the
Night
She sent me a railroad ticket too
To take me to her lovin arms
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Well I bin out here many long days
I havent found a place that I could call
My own
Not a two bit bed to lay my body on
I bin stood up I bin shook down
I bin dragged into the sand
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Ooooh oooo oo whu hu hoo
Ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo oo
Well I bin up tight most every night
Walkin along the streets of this old town
Not a friend around to tell my troubles to
My good old car she done broke down
cause I drove it into the ground
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Well I look over yonder across the plain
The big drive wheels are poundin along
The ground
Gonna get on board and Ill be homeward
Bound
Now I aint had a home cooked meal
And lord I need one now
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Now here I am with my hat in hand
Standin on the broad highway will you
Give a ride
To a lonesome boy who missed the train
Last night
I went in town for one last round
And I gambled my ticket away
And the big steel rail wont carry me
Home to the one I love
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Monkey And The Engineer
Once upon a time there was an engineer.
Drove a locomotive both far and near.
Accompanied by a monkey that would sit on a stool
Watching everything the engineer would do
One day the engineer wanted a bite to eat,
He left the monkey sitting on the driver's seat,
The monkey pulled the throttle, the locomotive jumped the gun
And did 80 miles an hour down the mainline run.
Big locomotive right on time, big locomotive coming down the line.
Big locomotive No. 99, left the engineer with a worried mind.
The engineer called up the dispatcher on the phone,
To tell him all about his locomotive was gone.
Dispatcher got on the wire, switch operator to the right,
Cause the monkey's got the main line sewed up tight.
The switch operator got the message on time,
Said there's a Northbound livin' on the same main line,
Open up the switch I'm gonna let him through the hole,
Cause the monkey's got the locomotive under control.
Big locomotive right on time, big locomotive coming down the line.
Big locomotive No. 99, left the engineer with a worried mind
song performed by by Grateful Dead
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Faith—is the Pierless Bridge
915
Faith—is the Pierless Bridge
Supporting what We see
Unto the Scene that We do not—
Too slender for the eye
It bears the Soul as bold
As it were rocked in Steel
With Arms of Steel at either side—
It joins—behind the Veil
To what, could We presume
The Bridge would cease to be
To Our far, vacillating Feet
A first Necessity.
poem by Emily Dickinson
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Monkey & The Engineer
Once upon a time there was an engineer.
Drove a locomotive both far and near.
Accompanied by a monkey that would sit on a stool
Watching everything the engineer would do
One day the engineer wanted a bite to eat,
He left the monkey sitting on the drivers seat,
The monkey pulled the throttle, the locomotive jumped the gun
And did 80 miles an hour down the mainline run.
Big locomotive right on time, big locomotive coming down the line.
Big locomotive no. 99, left the engineer with a worried mind.
The engineer called up the dispatcher on the phone,
To tell him all about his locomotive was gone.
Dispatcher got on the wire, switch operator to the right,
Cause the monkeys got the main line sewed up tight.
The switch operator got the message on time,
Said theres a northbound livin on the same main line,
Open up the switch Im gonna let him through the hole,
Cause the monkeys got the locomotive under control.
Big locomotive right on time, big locomotive coming down the line.
Big locomotive no. 99, left the engineer with a worried mind.
song performed by by Grateful Dead
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hey Porter
(johnny cash)
(c) - (g) - (f)
(c) hey, porter, hey porter! would you tell me the (f) time?
(c) how much longer will it be til we cross that (g) mason dixon line? (c)
At daylight would you tell the engineer to slow it (f) down;
Or better still, just stop the train cause I (g) wanna look a (c) round.
Hey, porter! hey porter! what time did you say ?
How much longer will it be till I can see the light of day ?
When we hit dixie would ya tell the engineer to ring his bell;
And tell everybody that aint asleep to stand right up and yell.
Hey, porter! hey, porter! please, go on and get my bags for me,
I dont need nobody to tell me now that Im in tennessee.
Were not so far from home, you know, and its a-getting light outside
This old train is a-puffin smoke and I have to strain in my eyes
Hey porter! hey porter! please open up the door.
When they stop this train Im gonna get off first cause I cant wait no more.
Tell the engineer I say, thanks a lot. and I didnt mind the fare.
Im gonna set my feet on southern soil, Im gonna breathe the southern air.
song performed by by Ry Cooder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Pilgrim
Youth's gay springtime scarcely knowing
Went I forth the world to roam--
And the dance of youth, the glowing,
Left I in my father's home,
Of my birthright, glad-believing,
Of my world-gear took I none,
Careless as an infant, cleaving
To my pilgrim staff alone.
For I placed my mighty hope in
Dim and holy words of faith,
"Wander forth--the way is open,
Ever on the upward path--
Till thou gain the golden portal,
Till its gates unclose to thee.
There the earthly and the mortal,
Deathless and divine shall be!"
Night on morning stole, on stealeth,
Never, never stand I still,
And the future yet concealeth,
What I seek, and what I will!
Mount on mount arose before me,
Torrents hemmed me every side,
But I built a bridge that bore me
O'er the roaring tempest-tide.
Towards the east I reached a river,
On its shores I did not rest;
Faith from danger can deliver,
And I trusted to its breast.
Drifted in the whirling motion,
Seas themselves around me roll--
Wide and wider spreads the ocean,
Far and farther flies the goal.
While I live is never given
Bridge or wave the goal to near--
Earth will never meet the heaven,
Never can the there be here!
poem by Friedrich Schiller
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The Law of the Jungle
Now this is the Law of the Jungle -- as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. AAs the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back --
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip; drink deeply, but never too deep;
And remember the night is for hunting, and forget not the day is for sleep.
The Jackal may follow the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy whiskers are grown,
Remember the Wolf is a Hunter -- go forth and get food of thine own.
Keep peace withe Lords of the Jungle -- the Tiger, the Panther, and Bear.
And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the Boar in his lair.
When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle, and neither will go from the trail,
Lie down till the leaders have spoken -- it may be fair words shall prevail.
When ye fight with a Wolf of the Pack, ye must fight him alone and afar,
Lest others take part in the quarrel, and the Pack be diminished by war.
The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, and where he has made him his home,
Not even the Head Wolf may enter, not even the Council may come.
The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain,
The Council shall send him a message, and so he shall change it again.
If ye kill before midnight, be silent, and wake not the woods with your bay,
Lest ye frighten the deer from the crop, and your brothers go empty away.
Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and ye can;
But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill Man!
If ye plunder his Kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride;
Pack-Right is the right of the meanest; so leave him the head and the hide.
The Kill of the Pack is the meat of the Pack. Ye must eat where it lies;
And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair, or he dies.
The Kill of the Wolf is the meat of the Wolf. He may do what he will;
But, till he has given permission, the Pack may not eat of that Kill.
Cub-Right is the right of the Yearling. From all of his Pack he may claim
Full-gorge when the killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same.
Lair-Right is the right of the Mother. From all of her year she may claim
One haunch of each kill for her litter, and none may deny her the same.
Cave-Right is the right of the Father -- to hunt by himself for his own:
He is freed of all calls to the Pack; he is judged by the Council alone.
Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw,
In all that the Law leaveth open, the word of your Head Wolf is Law.
Now these are the Laws of the Jungle, and many and mighty are they;
But the head and the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is -- Obey!
poem by Rudyard Kipling
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Back To Basom
Reaching out now and I touch your face
Please believe I'm only traveling
Like seeking wonder from a foreign place
It matters not from where I'm coming
And the snow so light is bleeding
We sleep so tight when we're breathing
Calm a little pint of soul - creeping
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(call is waiting, contemplate a thread already spun)
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(should you carry what you are is cooked until it's done)
(instrumental break)
Left to locate the last trace of waste
I picked it up and it was smiling
Just like the dancer who has lost her leg
She laughs alone but then she's crying
And the snow so light is bleeding
We sleep so tight when we're breathing
Calm a little pint of soul - creeping
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(call is waiting, contemplate a thread already spun)
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(should you carry what you are is cooked until it's done)
song performed by by Ween
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Back To Basom
Reaching out now and I touch your face
Please believe I'm only traveling
Like seeking wonder from a foreign place
It matters not from where I'm coming
And the snow so light is bleeding
We sleep so tight when we're breathing
Calm a little pint of soul - creeping
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(call is waiting, contemplate a thread already spun)
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(should you carry what you are is cooked until it's done)
(instrumental break)
Left to locate the last trace of waste
I picked it up and it was smiling
Just like the dancer who has lost her leg
She laughs alone but then she's crying
And the snow so light is bleeding
We sleep so tight when we're breathing
Calm a little pint of soul - creeping
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(call is waiting, contemplate a thread already spun)
Calm the light - let me fly - Back to Basom
(should you carry what you are is cooked until it's done)
song performed by by Ween
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mean Old Fireman
Written by (traditional).
I went down to the station
I leaned up against the door
Yeah, I went down to the station
I leaned up against the door
I said good-bye to my sweet, ride on
I said now, she couldnt use me no more
It was a mean old fireman
And a cruel old engineer
He was a mean old fireman
And a cruel old engineer
Yes, takin way my sweet woman
And left me standing here
Break:
I used to roll my baby
Till she - was forced to jump and shout
I used to roll my sweet baby
Till she was forced to jump and shout
Now that train pulls in boys
And Ill come walkin out
I heard the fireman blow the whistle
And the engineer ring the bell
I heard the fireman blow the whistle
And engineer ring the bell
I knew it was time boys
To - bid my baby farewell
Um
song performed by by Fleetwood Mac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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