Elevator Row

The grain elevator was the heart of these towns.
Everywhere on the prairies they rose.
You could see them for miles on the blue prairie skies
On the street they called “Elevator Row”.

Every town had ‘em. They looked much the same –
Just a place for the trucks to unload.
They’d haul in the grain to be loaded on trains
To be taken by rail to the coast.

As a kid I would ride on the grain truck to town
With a ribbon of dust far behind.
Oh, the dust & the chaff made me itch & I’d scratch -
I can still feel it all in my mind.

Oh, the wind blows so cold down the alley
As the truck strains to empty its load.
I would open the latch, watch the grain down the hatch
Disappear down that dirty black hole -
Oh, the lifeblood of Elevator Row.

Chorus:
Where’d they all go? They tore them all down.
How could they know they’d tear the heart from these towns?
So, where we go now? It’s just business, you know.
But something is missing - something is gone.
On Elevator Row – down Elevator Row.


Now there’s nothing much left where the elevators stood
And even the rail lines are gone.
And the town’s left to die or to somehow survive
With nothing much else to go on.

Now, I’m not sentimental, but I can’t help but feel
There’s a part of my history gone.
But that’s progress, they say. You can’t stand in the way.
But somehow I’m wishing they’re wrong.
They maybe right, but how would they know
I’d be missing Elevator Row.

Chorus:
Where’d they all go? They tore them all down.
How could they know they’d tear the heart from these towns?
So, where we go now? Does anybody know?
But something is missing, - something is gone
On Elevator Row – down Elevator Row.

© Garry Stickel 2013