The Last Days of Steam

To be an engine driver or the captain of a ship

Was every little boy's dream

I'm so glad I lived just when I did

I lived in the last days of steam

I sailed on the steam ship Themistocles

From Durban round the Cape to Liverpool

Nine weeks at sea, nine knots all the way

No sign of land and bunkers full of coal

As we steamed up the Mersey twixt the masts of sunken ships

I realized the country'd been at war

And I saw a steam shovel, picking up the bombed out rubble

And I wondered what they'd all been fighting for.

Those mighty machines

Will live on in my dreams

Along with times that have gone and been

Our grandchildren may see em

In some dusty old museum

Reminders of the last days of steam

Back in Africa again I'd often catch a bushveld train

It was driven by water coal and steam

The engine drivers name was Roy, the stoker just a boy

All muscle bound and only seventeen

Bushveld timber was used to build the track

The coaches dining car and even WC's

Folks never pulled the chain when the train was in the station

People had consideration in those days

Those mighty machines

Will live on in my dreams

Along with times that have gone and been

Our grandchildren may see em

In some dusty old museum

Reminders of the last days of steam

So, I'll just boil the kettle

And on the porch, I'll settle

With my coffee and never ending dream

And as the steam is rising

I'll be fantasizing

Bout my times in the last days of steam

Those mighty machines

Will live on in my dreams

Along with times that have gone and been

Our grandchildren may see em

In some dusty old museum

Reminders of the last days of steam