Missouri River Bridge

[Verse 1]
Between the skyscraper on the prairie
And where the west begins
Ironworkers worked on the Missouri River bridge
He said the profits of the trade were well worth the risk
We raised five babes you were our sixth
And each morning I’d watch him go
My nose against our foggy North Dakota ranch home window

[Chorus]
Your daddy was a builder of many things
I only wish he would have built himself some wings

[Verse 2]
I took a seamstress job in Bismarck after papa took the fall
Ann looked after you, Joe became the bearing wall
Had no means for a burial, we were barely keeping fed
But we can lay these flowers on the Missouri riverbed
And each morning wake up brave
If your back’s against a wall that will not budge then leave your love engraved

[Chorus]
Your daddy was a builder of many things
I only wish he would have built himself some wings

[Verse 3]
When you’re forty years old, you’ll receive a telephone call
This is when you’ll find out the story isn’t true at all
They’ll say we regret to inform you that your father has just died
You’ll tell them you already got that news as a little child
But I could not bare to say
The only bridge your daddy built was the one he used to walk away

[Chorus]
Your daddy was a builder of many things
I only wish he would have built himself some wings
I only wish he could have built himself some wings