We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Steel Electric Days

from Family History by J.W. McClure with Thaddeus Spae

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

some ferry boat history from Puget Sound. Requiem for the steel electric era of boats

lyrics

Some ferry history which started with a headline in the Everett Herald, story by Scott North
Steel Electric Days
1. Started in the year of ‘51
The Ferry System in Washington
Mosquito fleet
From the Black Ball Line
Built of wood and good design
But wood can rot and wood can wear
And soon these hulls would need
repair
Need repair
Need repair
And soon these hulls would need repair
2. The other hulls were made of steel
From the captain’s post down to the keel
The Hiyu and
The Klickitat
And even stranger names than that
But steel is strong and steel is good
Soon the steel replaced the wood
Replaced the wood
Replaced the wood
Soon the steel replaced the wood
3. Eighty-one years on the Puget Sound
The steel-electrics sailed around
Trusted on
The Keystone Run
We all thought they’d carry on
Fighting wind and courting waves
But steel can slowly rust away
Rust away
Rust away
Steel can slowly rust away
4. Forty-one years on the Puget Sound
The tiny Hiyu sailed around
Men like me
We turned her wheel
Trusted God we trusted steel
But then we heard that awful sound
The shipwright brought his hammer
down
Hammer down
Hammer down
The shipwright brought his hammer
Down
5. Steel Electric auld lang syne
Highway thru the Maritime
The hammer tore
A hole in one
The steel had rusted down to none
The hammer stuck and did betray
The steel electrics cast away
Castaway
Castaway
The steel electrics castaway
6. Some newer boats were built askew
From Stem to stern, from wheel to screw
And some would list
And some were slow
And some required a lengthy tow
But none could last as well as those
For whom the hammer struck its blows
Struck its blow
Struck its blow
For whom the hammer struck its blows

credits

from Family History, released March 9, 2023
Songwriter J.W. McClure on guitar and vocals: Thaddeus Spae on keyboards and guitarron; Harmonies by Kristi and Steve Nebel

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

J.W. McClure image

J.W. McClure Seattle, Washington

J.W. McClure lives in Stanwood, Washington. This is a career restarted for me. In the 1970’s I was often an opening act at the Washington D.C. clubs, The Cellar Door and The Childe Harold for Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Rush and many well known bands. In the 1980’s I returned to Washington to do folk music, satire and stand-up comedy before getting swamped by family and other work. ... more

contact / help

Contact J.W. McClure

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like J.W. McClure, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now