Mon Valley Kid

The whistle would blow from a coal-dust dream
The barges drifted down that wide lazy stream
And down from the bend where the dark steel mills stood
Childhood moved slow; it was real and good

(Chorus)
Time carried away a boy meant to roam
Turned him into a stranger, far from his home
But the Mon holds my story from boy to the man
and lives in my dreams, and who I am

The Friday night games and a roar from the crowd
All moments of promise spoken out loud
The junior high dances, a nervous first touch
The first little heartbreaks didn't hurt all that much

Our parents worked hard and taught the old ways
And there was never much money to spend in those days
We'd pile in big cars with a dollar for gas
And drive through the night, making moments to last

Then the whistle blew, the train rolled on
And it never turned back, the childhood was gone

Time carried away a boy meant to roam
Turned him into a stranger, far from his home
But the Mon holds my story from boy to the man
and lives in my dreams, and who I am