They have bridged you, O Missouri, Spanned your tawny flood with steel, Arched above your singing current Fair Ambition's sign and seal. Framed of steel and forged by labor, Fruit of countless hopes and fears, Woven into massive splendor Are the dreams of many years. Roadways thread the hills and valleys, Winding down to meet you, where High above your tawny beauty Spans a noble thoroughfare. Olden dreams are dreams no longer, They have bloomed with wondrous grace, In the bridge's towering splendor Hope's fulfillment do I trace. But I'm missing, O Missouri, Something that was dear to me, When the Ferry slipped her mooring On your current swinging free. Dodging sandbars, drifting with you, Swinging back against your tide, Gay Adventure rode the Ferry As it passed from side to side. Well I know it, O Missouri, It was time the deed was done; Time you wore the crown of progress, Time the binding web was spun. You will understand, Missouri, If today I drop a tear, For Adventure and the Ferry, The Romance of yesteryear. |