Lyrics: Ballad of the Baltimore Bridge

While the lyrics to the “Ballad of the Baltimore Bridge” appear as captions in our music video, several people have asked that they be published separately. So here they are. Thanks to everyone for the interest in this song and for all the supportive comments we received on its release. If you know anyone who worked on the construction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, if you know the families of the victims of the March 2024 disaster, please feel free to share the YouTube link with them.

Ballad of the Baltimore Bridge@

Frank and Bud and their best friend Sam
Each did a tour in Vietnam.
They were strong, they were lean
And burned by the sun,
Took union jobs when their tours were done.
They built a bridge across the port,
Downstream from the old defenders’ fort.
And the bridge smiled shore to shore …
A mile across Baltimore.
Across Baltimore.

The bridge stood strong throughout the years.
Strong its girders, strong its piers.
Survived lashing winds
And a rising sea,
Everyone believed it would always be.
But one March night, well before dawn,
A ship struck a pier n’ the bridge was gone.
And just like that,
Gone from the shores of Baltimore.
Of Baltimore.

Six men died with the bridge that day,
Immigrants who’d come from far away.
From Guatemala
And El Salvador
Seeking new lives at America’s door:
Maynor and Alejandro.
Dorlian Carbera, Castillo.
Miguel Luna and Jose Lopez.
Carlos Daniel Hernandez.
Patching potholes
In the middle of night,
Lost in the rubble
Lost from sight,
Lost in the river below.

Dreams don’t die when the dreamer does.
America’s what it always was.
It’s a dream and a promise,
Land of the free.
Thousands still come and still believe.
Remember the builders, their iron pride.
Pray for the dreamers, the ones who died.
Hold forever the promise,
And a word to all:
Better to build a bridge than to build a wall.
Better a bridge than a wall.

@Copyright 2025 Dan Rodricks & Mat Lane