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Ribbon of Broken Dreams

from Northern Sightlines by John Spearn

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lyrics

Chang left his family and home in Canton,
For a one-way fare on the sea.
Halfway around the earth he was tossed,
To work in the land of the free.
“Bring in more of those poor Chinese chaps!” cried Van Horne.
“We’ll have ten more miles of track in our lap by the morn!”
And “Onward!” the foreman did cry.
“We’ll blast through the rock, don’t be shy!
There’s a ten dollar bonus, for volunteers . . .
Just don’t trip or slip in the cavern ’til you’ve clamped the wire.
And if you don’t make it, we’ll wire your wages to China . . .
If you desire.
And your families can come here with a dollar in their hand,
to the Golden Sun they’ll travel, to this great land!”
Trans-Canadian line, British Columbia’s future design.
In the true north, where the dream rolls on.
On the backbones . . . of the men from Canton.
And their strong young bones lay shattered,
Their broken dreams lay tattered,
Under long, cold, tar-tied ribbons of steel.
In the nearby trees, the ghostly shadows are real!
And for every mile of track,
A proud Cantonese man lays six feet down,
In the graveyard of the newest railroad town.
Trans-Canadian line, British Columbia’s future design.
In the true north, where the dream rolls on.
On the backbones . . . of the men from Canton.
At Hell’s Gate in the Fraser Canyon
Of the six hundred workers left standin’
Only three hadn’t lost . . . their best companion.
Trans-Canadian line, British Columbia’s future design.
In the true north, where the dream rolls on.
On the backbones . . . of the men from Canton.

credits

from Northern Sightlines, released January 1, 1999

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John Spearn Edmonton, Alberta

You’ll instantly catch these deep influences threaded through John’s fine vocals, lyrics, and rootsy, guitar-mastered songwriting works. This is pure Canadiana: forgotten but deserving heroes, the humility in our international image, and a superb range of tender ballads through to raw, foot-stompin’ stories that need to be told. ... more

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