From a pious west To the wooded north Where the real freaks live In the east They're beating out a line They're kicking in a hole They're beating out a line Kicking in a hole In the sides of the brazen bull A calf of gold Champagne bath half-full Dignity or toil Syndicate or gang Rose and thorn Not all of them on pills A chant from the end of the bar Being reborn In this soil, in this ground The Michigan hammers Are on their way A chant from the end of the bar Not all of them on pills Break apart the surface lot What's been torn down Can't be rebuilt What has been rebuilt Can't be destroyed Off the coast of Veracruz They threw them overboard Some made it to shore What a hardy mule To work without reward Carrying the load Till they drop amongst the stones They sleep beneath the waves Extraction of a life for debt Extraction of a life for debt Michigan hammers Michigan hammers Michigan hammers Michigan hammers Beating out a line Kicking in a hole In the side Brazen bull Calf of gold Dignity or toil