"The Pacific Railroad" (1869)
by George Frederick Root
from "The Pacific Glee Book"

1.
Ring out, oh bells! Let cannons roar
In loudest tones of thunder,
The iron bars, from shore to shore,
Are laid, and nations wonder.
Thro' deserts vast and forests deep,
Thro' mountains grand and hoary,
A path is open'd for all time,
And we behold the glory.

CHORUS
Ring out, oh bell! Let cannons roar
In loudest tones of thunder,
The iron bars from shore to shore,
Are laid, are laid, are laid, are laid.
And nations wonder.

2.
We who but yesterday appeared
As settlers of the border,
Where only savages were reared
'Mid chaos and disorder;
We wake to find ourselves midway
In continental station,
And send our greetings either way
Across the mighty nation.

(CHORUS)

3.
We reach our towards the Golden Gate,
And eastward to the oceans;
The tea will come at lightning rate,
And likewise Yankee notions.
From spicey islands of the West,
The breezes now are blowing,
And all the world will do its best
To keep the cars a-going.

(CHORUS)