Some towns got tobacco, some towns got the mines
this town is all working men,
and a river that flows like wine
came of age a child of twenty, and I took my place in a line
Du Pont was hiring and winter comin' on
and they paid twice for overtime
well, I met Sara McHenry, in a tavern one July
found myself back to work on monday
put in a claim for lost time
thirty years the fire's been burnin', they'll burn for ever more
see them flames they leap, like comets in the sky
the poison's deep at the core
thirty years we sowed the poison, hills bloomed and then went bare
methylene she runs, straight down river
sweet as roses in the air
so now you tell me how they're clearing out a town called Love Canal
ain't nobody here, going nowhere
the work's like water from a well
and the sky above this valley,
it's filled with smoke and prayers
and our sins won't be forgiven, no
they won't be remembered and we'll be spared
Sarah closed the door the last time, and she pulled on out the drive
I said I would never bring a child into this world
even if it meant my life
so it's one for the road, one for the open sky
one for whiskey, one for rye
and for cashing checks for lost time
some men they grow old thinking, how they rented out their lives
most of us are downtown drinking
looking for lost time