East Side West Side
by
Lorne Warr


The letter arrived a hot day in July
From his brother who lived in the States
It said, " Frankie close up your house in the cove
Come down where the living is great
Brooklyn and Queens are like nothing you've seen
They're so big that they hardly seem real
And the buildings rise high as the clouds in the sky
And they're looking for men for the steel

Oh, there's work to be done for a back that is strong
And a heart that beats without fear
And up there on the beam, its like living a dream
And you step like you're walking on air
So Frankie take Bessie and Billy too
Get the steamer and make a new start
Cause the boys from Twillingate Island are here
And we're dancin' the Streets of New York"

Singing East side west side all around the town
East side west side
Where their feet don't touch the ground

So Frankie and Bessie and Billy too
Stepped out on that long Brooklyn pier
And the boys from the Island all gathered around them
And they laughed like they hadn't a care
They taught him about rails, and rivets and nails
And how to walk like a cat on a beam
And he watched from his mountain as the city grew round him
And they built the American dream

Singing East side west side all around the town
East side west side
Where their feet don't touch the ground

Bessie made them a home in a building of stone
With 2 baths and a broad Brooklyn view
And after Sunday dinner the boys would all gather
And they'd talk about Newfoundland news
When fall came along his daughter was born
The first time he held her he cried
And the boys raised a glass to all that had passed
And all that was coming besides

And they sang east side west side all around the town
East side west side
Where their feet don't touch the ground

He fell like a sparrow on a cold winter day
An angel whose wings had been broken
And the boys from the Island, all gathered around him
And barely a word was spoken
Then Bessie and Billy and Marion too
They put on the steamer back home
And Bessie went back to her house in the cove
To raise up her children alone
Some of the boys stayed, some went back home
And some went off to the war
And time slipped along until they were gone
Like the countless who been there before
But their children had dreams
And their children too
Of a life that was lived without care
Where their footsteps were light as an angel in flight
And they stepped like they were walking on air.

East side west side all around the town
East side west side
Who knows where they'll come down