To be an engine driver
Or the captain of a ship
Was every little boy's dream
I'm so glad I lived just when I did
I lived in the last days of steam

I sailed on the steam ship Themistocles
From Durban round the Cape to Liverpool
Nine weeks at sea
Nine knots all the way
No sign of land and bunkers full of coal
As we steamed up the Mersey twixt the masts of sunken ships
I realized the country'd been at war
And I saw a steam shovel picking up the bombed out rubble
And I wondered what they'd all been fighting for

Those mighty machines
Will live on in my dreams
Along with times that have gone and been
Our grandchildren may see em
In some dusty old museum
Reminders of the last days of steam

Back in Africa again I'd often catch a bushveld train
It was driven by water coal and steam
The engine drivers name was Roy
The stoker just a boy
All muscle bound and only seventeen
Bushveld timber was used to build the track
The coaches dining car and even WC's
Folks never pulled the chain
When the train was in the station
People had consideration in those days

Those mighty machines
Will live on in my dreams
Along with times that have gone and been
Our grandchildren may see em
In some dusty old museum
Reminders of the last days of steam

So I'll just boil the kettle
And on the porch I'll settle
With my coffee and never ending dream
And as the steam is rising
I'll be fantasizing
Bout my times in the last days of steam

Those mighty machines
Will live on in my dreams
Along with times that have gone and been
Our grandchildren may see em
In some dusty old museum
Reminders of the last days of steam

Reminders of the last days of steam