[Verse]
Kaiser of steel
Steam ship and wheel
Master of land and ocean
Owner of souls
Railroad and coals
Let us address you, devotion

[Bridge]
Harken, oh king
Listen, oh thing
Softly we sing, and low

[Chorus]
Oh, what a pal was Gary
Oh, what a pal was he
Time rambles on
Hush, we are gone
Gary, almighty dream

[Verse]
Driven of steel
Glowing red, unreal
Down in the cold river furnace
Shearing a brume
Uncaring, a tomb
Through the toil and skirmish
[Bridge]
12 hours a day
All work, without play
That's why we sing, and low

[Chorus]
Oh, what a pal was Gary
Oh, what a pal was he
Time rambles on
Pretty soon, we're all gone
Gary, almighty dream

[Verse]
Like a tended cigar
Smokestacks and bars
For those workers and hires
Sparks, slag and stench
And our smoke-battered friends
Home of the Jackson Five

[Bridge]
Gary, I hope that you're proud
Of the smoke, and the stink, and the cloud

[Chorus]
Oh, what a pal was Gary
Oh, what a pal was he
Time rambles on
Pretty soon, we're all gone
Gary, infernal dream