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transcontinental railroad rap - john holden, nic hertzler, and duncan hopkins lyrics

[intro: john holden]

[chorus]
transcontinental railroad on this track
once they started, there was no turning back
from coast to coast is where it spanned
uniting americans all across the land

[verse 1: duncan hopkins]
best railroad in the world it’s called transcontinental
1832 hartwell carver thought it fundamental
to travel on a train taking him through the great plains
to the pacific, that’d be terrific, but it was too scientific
cause railroads need preliminary information
need to do some exploration
everything west of the mississippi was still foreign to the nation
no procrastination gotta build some train stations
hurry up no fakin gotta get it in the making (train noise)
railroad companies took land staked it
cause the government said take it
they want to see the coast the most so they partake in
the gadsden purchase for the purpose of producing the best route
buying land from mexico because they want to follow through
and pursue western land but they built it all by hand
watching america expand right into the promised land
workers had to fight to see the light with all their might
and going site to site to hit the golden spike was such a plight
cause they’re gonna put the…

[chorus]

[verse 2: nic hertzler]
the construction began in 1863
railroad going across the country
when they started it was already half done
but still took six long years under the sun
workers were primarily irish and chinese
their wages quite low from the three companies
western, central, and union pacific
the conditions for workers were rather horrific
in sacramento the first track was laid
from there much more progress was made
they cleared the path with nitroglycerin
‘cause in tunnels the heat wasn’t blisterin’
as the end neared advancement didn’t decline
the two ends met in early ‘69
when the golden spike was driven in promontory
it was safe to say “it’s not the end of the story”

[chorus]

[verse 3: john holden]
was it coast to coast, or omaha to sacramento?
either way, this railroad was transcontinental
a nation collapsed in on itself during antebellum
but this railroad made things stronger than ever so you can go and tell them
anyone can transport their goods across a whole nation
no more selling locally all that did was cause frustration
usa, big superpower, now it’s your time
come on in, join the club, cuz you’re gonna be in your prime
hear the train whistles chime, take a seat and watch the show
america is stepping in so sit back and watch them blow up
like the bombs when they’re bursting in the air
rockets glare, i don’t care, i just really wanna stare
cuz this railroad is laying tracks for the industrial revolution
and after reconstruction you can really see this evolution
laying tracks continentally but also in the 20th century
it was manifest destiny to fundamentally change the course of history

[chorus]

- john holden nic hertzler and duncan hopkins lyrics

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