Factory Floor Waltz

[Verse 1] Steel-toed boots on concrete floors Thirty years behind those doors Dad's calloused hands tell stories now Of times that won't come back somehow The factory whistle's final call While autumn leaves begin to fall Nathan holds my trembling hand As we watch my father's final stand [Chorus] Dancing shadows on the factory floor One last waltz before they close the door Northern lights and smokestack dreams Nothing's ever what it seems Oh, this three-step dance of letting go While love blooms in the afterglow [Verse 2] Grandma's voice on cassette tape "We survived, love, that's our fate" Through wars and strikes and bitter cold The working class stays proud and bold Nathan's mixing desk at night Makes music from the fading light While Dad surrenders keys and pride To suits who never worked inside [Bridge] Empty lockers, empty hearts As the production line departs But in this ghost of industry Something beautiful breaks free Your weathered hands taught me to dance While Nathan gave me one more chance [Chorus] Dancing shadows on the factory floor One last waltz before they close the door Northern lights and smokestack dreams Nothing's ever what it seems Oh, this three-step dance of letting go While love blooms in the afterglow [Verse 3] Newcastle's skyline changing fast As memories fade into the past But Dad still wears his work shirt proud Head held high above the crowd And Nathan whispers in my ear "The future's neither there nor here" It's in the space between goodbyes Where hope refuses just to die [Outro] One, two, three, the dance goes on Even when the work is gone One, two, three, we'll make it through Just like they taught us how to do