They tell me I'm a spike driving man
And for life that's what I am
From dawn till dark laying track
Can cause a man to break his back
They say that I robbed a rich white man
That I stole his favorite gun
They say I set fire to his barn
And that I swore at his wife and son
Bound by this chain and this ball
I've heard it all from here to hell
The sun bakes our skin to the bone
We're only saved by the dinner bell
The scars never heal from the whip
I've had my fill can't take no more
I still think of you and the kids
And of the way it was before
They call me a spike driving man
And for life that's what I am
Note: there's a musical version of this poem in the External Link below
© RDBrooks 2014
Photo and text from ashevillejunction.com - The WNC Railroad tunnel through Swannanoa Mountain, near Ashville, NC, opened in 1879, took 20 years to build by hand labor and cost 300 convict laborers their lives. It opened Asheville to the greatest of its development booms.
