Torch tip kisses cold rail steel
Sparks bloom like jellyfish in deep
Rhythm beats in wrist and heel
Promises the dark to keep
Blue denim dawn breaks underground
Welding light where shadows clung
Blue denim dawn without a sound
Steel bones knit before the sun
Blue denim dawn breaks underground
Welding light where shadows clung
Thirty years I watched the beam
Sweep the waves through fog and gale
Now I see a different gleam
On the tracks of iron rail
Same vigil kept in different guise
Hands that know the storm's disguise
Blue denim dawn breaks underground
Welding light where shadows clung
Blue denim dawn without a sound
Steel bones knit before the sun
Blue denim dawn breaks underground
Welding light where shadows clung
Third shift ends at four thirteen
Train wind shakes the mosaic tile
Cooling rod in calloused hand
Waiting for the morning smile
Blue denim dawn breaks underground
Welding light where shadows clung
Blue denim dawn without a sound
Steel bones knit before the sun
Blue denim dawn breaks underground
Welding light where shadows clung
Lantern oil and acetylene
Different fuel but same clear sight
Both keep watch where none have been
Turning darkness into light
Salt crust on my boot heel
