All day, everyday   I swing my hammer to the metal   On the Northern railway   Always a movie playing in my head   A million movies starring you and me      Moonshine every night   Eating supper by the fire, out in the clear moonlight   Ankles crossed, hands behind my head   Telling stories, singing songs about the West      I'm always thinking of you   Staring off down the railroad line   One sweet day I will see you   But I'll swing the hammer until   The empire builder brings me home      For two months and two odd weeks   Sometimes days go by in which nobody speaks   From Illinois to Washington   There ain't nothing but the hammer to the rail      One day when this track runs through   I'm gonna buy a new suit and come looking for you   And carefree, you and me   We'll take the empire builder to the sea      And I'm always thinking of you   Staring off down the railroad line   One sweet day I will see you   But I'll swing the hammer until   The empire builder brings me home