I’m a carpenter by trade, for a solid union wage 
for contractors we build up the Twin Cities
And as summers come and went, my apprenticeship was spent 
Raising bridges across the Mississippi 
But before my station rose, I was deckhand on the tows
And the river and I have an understanding 
That I stay tied off up here, and away from her keep clear 
But if I fall she’ll mangle me on landing 

Chorus
I’ve built bridges and the byways from the river to the highways
Above the river and the traffic rolling 
 I’ve raised scaffolding and forms til my boots were wrecked and worn 
Now I whistle ‘cross the bridges as I’m strollin’

We were working in the sleet on the deck below 3rd street
And when break time came my bro took off his yo-yo
Then it whipped around and sped, and it clipped me in the head
And damn near left my partner working solo
I hung over the edge, ‘bove the waterfall and ledge
And the killer yo-yo snapped back to its anchor 
Thank God I still had mine and it held me on the line 
Lucky as the richest Wall Street banker 

When 10th street was re-decked, the whole span was almost wrecked 
When they tried to pull the Quik-Shield ‘cross the river 
We stretched cables there and back, and ratcheted the slack 
So tight that the steel would barely quiver 
Then we threw the deck on top, ‘til we got the word to stop
For the engineers re-did their calculations 
And the tension and the weight would pull the piers down straight 
And earn us all a ticket to damnation

One day as I built brackets I was startled by a racket 
Of a half a ton of treated timber landing
when a stack of 4x4s tumbled down 3 floors 
and fell onto the spot where I’d been standin’
Well the men up top were hushed for they figured I was crushed 
And the man who cut the bundle took the blame 
Be no sin, if I were pissed, but I shouted up “You missed!”
 And I hollered at the man to mind his aim 

Buildin’ spans from rim to rim we risked our lives and limbs
To keep the Minneapolis bridges standin’
So no more tragic days will come our city’s way
When infrastructure upkeep is abandoned 
From Northeast to the South Side they’re each my joy and pride 
Risin’ up above the city’s rubble 
For fortune took her shots, and I’ve taken all my knocks 
And taken home the paycheck for my trouble

Minneapolis Bridges

Am. 
Main vocals, bass, mandolin, and pennywhistle by Emmett Doyle
Feline vocals by Nestor Samovitch and Alfred Gremlinovitch, esq.

A song in tribute to the expropriator, Lucio Urtubia, who after an initial political career as a bank robber, forged hundreds of traveler checks to defraud the banks of funds. He and his comrades distributed these funds to the poor and to rebel and resistance groups throughout the world. When he was caught, he was able to ransom the remaining printing plates, with which his comrades could continue to financially ruin the bankers, for his freedom. He passed away in 2020, a free man. 

"Lucio is a Quijote that did not fight against wind mills, but against a true giant".- Albert Bodella
Am G Am E
Well I am a man of action, I could never find no rest
With El Quico in the stick up game, I learned it from the best
I found my cause breaking down the laws, flying the red and black 
The banks have robbed us all our lives, so we just rob them back

	Laying bricks and cement mix is honest work but good, 
But after hours at the vault I work like Robin Hood
We get a hit, and a three way split, to break up every score 
One for ourselves, one for our comrades, and one part for the poor

	But it’s step by step and breath by breath you keep loose from the cops
And the bandit runs a race with death, ‘til the day that he gets caught 
There’s other game than robbin’ banks, and living on the run
And you’ll make more cash with a printing press than you can with a mask and gun

	Any government can run a mint, but workers print the cash
Why not forge a deck full of traveler’s cheques and reap it in at last
It wasn’t for the riches, and damn sure not for the fame
But many’s the rebel owes their gun, to Lucio and his game

Bridge:
Dm Am
But the the lawmen’s noose was drawing tight and Lucio was revealed
Dm Am E
They had our comrades dead to rights, their fates were nearly sealed
But the printing plates were hid away, We could still go on a spree 
so we bartered back those printing plates to set our comrades free

Lucio Urtubia fought the giants and he won, 
He got away with all the cash, then lived life in the sun
Laying bricks and cement mix is honest work but good, 
But turn those hands to forgery, and be like Robin Hood

Lucio Urtubia

Folk musician, carpenter, and anarchist. Former member of the Wooden Shoe Ramblers. 
Website: https://edoylemusic.weebly.com/
Bandcamp: https://emmettdoyle.bandcamp.com/album/rust-belt-ballads
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/emmettdoyle
WSR: https://woodenshoeramblers.bandcamp.com/releases

Lucio Urtubia

Emmett Doyle

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