Steel in the skies and the road, Somehow travelling far. Chasing a dream of the west Made with iron and stone.
These are old hills that stand in the way Breaking the line. It came out of the storm, Out of the sea To the permanent way Using just available light, He could still see far.
Deep in the heart of the land Breaking through the old stone. Chasing the trail of the water Down through underground streams.
Working the way through the valleys and fields, Grass grown hills and stone. Parting the land With the mark of man, The permanent way, Using just available light, He could still see Far skies, deep time.
These are old places stood in the way. Low cloud comes to ground. The grey and the green and the bold and the brave On the permanent way. Using just available light, He could still see far. Using just available light, He could still see far.
Twelve stones from the water Continents apart The clouds are gathering again, Filling up the sky, It rains on England.
Roofless engine houses Distant hills like bookends Frame electrical storms Moving out to sea Away from England.
Those days have gone, those days... Those days have gone, Their names are lost The stories left untold. Under an ordinary star We are just moments of time, It is the end of the line This place is worked out.
A faultline opens in the ground Waves make their way to the shore, This is the end of the line, Time worn and broken.
These things have faded with the light Few know the stories now, This is the end of the line, Time worn and broken.
Under steel grey skies He is drawn across the river. No bands played, There was no sound. A sunray met the dark Of the fuller's earth. It is gone now. It is over.
All good things and everything... This used to be a railway town Now we're travelling without knowing, Without meaning.
Light bleeds from the world, Starcross, the Underfall Yard, The iron and the stone is broken, The dream of the Western mind, Searching for reason Is gone now.
These are old places stood in the way, Grass grown hills and stone. Parting the land With the mark of man, The permanent way, Using just available light, He could still see far.