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I'm the Man That Built the Bridges

        A                                   E
I'm the man that built the bridges, I'm the man that laid the track,
        B7                                  E
I'm the man that built this country with my shoulders and my back.
        A                                 E
I'm the man that built the power dams and oiled all the cars,
    B7                              E          B7      E
And I laid down the cornerstone for this great land of ours.


  E                                     A                E            
I cleared the rocks and timber from the wild New England shore,
                                       B7
And I labored long and hard to make it grow.
  E                                A            E
I built the first log cabins and I raised a family,
                             B7                E
Told King George and all his Redcoats where to go.

I'm the man that built the bridges, I'm the man that laid the track,
I'm the man that built this country with my shoulders and my back.
I'm the man that built the power dams and oiled all the cars,
And I laid down the cornerstone for this great land of ours.

I'm the boy that drove the wagons when the people headed west,
Dug canals and pulled the barges on their way.
I built and ran the factories, cut the timber for your homes,
Drove the oxen when I cut and baled the hay.

I'm the man that built the bridges, I'm the man that laid the track,
I'm the man that built this country with my shoulders and my back.
I'm the man that built the power dams and oiled all the cars,
And I laid down the cornerstone for this great land of ours.

I built the old sod shanties and I raised the prairie towns,
And I made the railroad run from sea to sea.
I raised and drove the cattle to feed a growing land,
And the mining towns are there because of me.

I'm the man that built the bridges, I'm the man that laid the track,
I'm the man that built this country with my shoulders and my back.
I'm the man that built the power dams and oiled all the cars,
And I laid down the cornerstone for this great land of ours.

Well, I stoked the mighty furnaces and rolled the flamin' steel,
I operated oil rigs and wells.
And when the country needed them, I built the planes and tanks
To send the tyrants down to fry in hell.

I'm the man that built the bridges, I'm the man that laid the track,
I'm the man that built this country with my shoulders and my back.
I'm the man that built the power dams and oiled all the cars,
And I laid down the cornerstone for this great land of ours.

Well, my face may not be pretty and my clothes are not the best,
And there ain't no big shots in my family tree.
But if you're wonderin' who it was that made this country great,
You don't have to look no further, it was me.

I'm the man that built the bridges, I'm the man that laid the track,
I'm the man that built this country with my shoulders and my back.
I'm the man that built the power dams and oiled all the cars,
And I laid down the cornerstone for this great land of ours.

(Words and music by Tom Paxton, 1962)

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