Standing in the Cold
Intro
Verse 1
Grease on my knuckles, oil on the concrete floor
I’m working late in a shop down off Route 4
Dad had his union badge pinned right above the sink
Told me a working man’s word was a heavy iron link
Now I’m turning wrenches in a town that lost its spine
While the factory doors sit locked on the county line
They promised us a future in the papers that they signed
Then traded off our muscle for a dollar down the line.
Chorus
Oh, they packed up the foundry and headed for the coast
Turned the working-class valley to a ghost
From the marble halls down in D.C. to the Silicon bay
They used to stand beside us, now they look the other way
Yeah, they sold out Pennsylvania for a high-tech dream
And left the greasy hands out of the machine.
Verse 2
I turned on the TV at the end of the shift
Saw a guy in a tailored suit talking ’bout the digital rift
Saying the world moved on, saying we were left behind
Like sixty thousand families were just an error in his mind
Now they talk down from the podiums, speak in slick newspeak
Calling us backward just for trying to survive the week
They traded the factory floor for a skyscraper view
And forgot the very people that they owes allegiance to.
Chorus
Oh, they packed up the foundry and headed for the coast
Turned the working-class valley to a ghost
From the marble halls down in D.C. to the Silicon bay
They used to stand beside us, now they look the other way
Yeah, they sold out Pennsylvania for a high-tech dream
And left the greasy hands out of the machine.
Bridge
There’s a rusty old sign on the edge of the town
Says "Build American Pride"—but they tore the iron down
My union dues are paid, but my father’s party’s gone
Now it’s just the sound of crickets on a quiet, dusty lawn.
Chorus
Oh, they packed up the foundry and headed for the coast
Turned the working-class valley to a ghost
From the marble halls down in D.C. to the Silicon bay
They used to stand beside us, now they look the other way
Yeah, they sold out Pennsylvania for a high-tech dream
And left the greasy hands out of the machine.
Outro
Yeah, left us standing in the cold, boys
Left us standing in the cold...