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Steel

from Steel by Nell & Jim Band

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about

Jim wrote this in an evening while we were preparing dinner. Nell put on some water and said, “why don’t you go in the living room and write a song and I’ll start one in the kitchen”. So we did and this tune popped out. It is a true life story. After High School Jim was trying to decide what to do for a career. He was already and accomplished guitarist since he had spent many years learning it from his father and was playing gigs since he was 15 years old. He in fact told his mother he was considering going to Welding School to which his mom said, “Jimmy, have you thought about music school, your a good musician” his reply “I have to be able to make a living”.So off he went to trade school at a local community college, right after he went to work as a journeyman welder for Kaiser Steel in Vallejo California in the Marine Division. Then he worked on bridges, offshore drilling rigs, pumping station platforms for the Alaska Pipeline, and various other huge construction projects. At on point he held the most certifications in the entire shipyard. Around 1983 he invited a welding mentor Andy Ochoa to a concert in Berkeley. At that point Jim was performing about 3-4 nights per week and working full time at Kaiser Steel, he told this to Andy, he told him he didn’t know what to do he was so busy, Andy said “do this”, and that was the end of the welding career.


lyrics

"Steel" Lyrics

These callused old hands have worked the shipyard steel
They have played the saddest songs that you could ever feel
They’ve dried teardrops on a cold and lonely night
Knowing when to let go and when to hold on tight
These callused old hands have built my life
I’ve hung from oilrigs when I was 21
I played dingy bars for a pocket full of fun
Chipped slag from a new made weld making a rhythmic sound
To take my mind from the shipyard back to the fiddling ground
To play another round
I walked the heights on cold hard pipe hundreds of feet from ground
Welded in a 3 foot pipe 75 feet down
Worked on the hot black steel in 100 degree heat
Shielding myself from molten sparks with leather from head to feet
It can nearly make you weep
These callused old hands have worked the shipyard steel
They have played the saddest songs that you could ever feel
They’ve dried teardrops on a cold and lonely night
Knowing when to let go and when to hold on tight
These callused old hands have built my life
From bridges to oil rigs, pipelines to rails
I worked the molten steel and listened for the wail
Of the whistle at quittin’ time to go and rest my head
Thankful I made it through another day working full speed ahead
Dreaming of a guitar in my hands
These callused old hands have worked the shipyard steel
They have played the saddest songs that you could ever feel
They’ve dried teardrops on a cold and lonely night
Knowing when to let go and when to hold on tight
These callused old hands have built my life

credits

from Steel, released February 15, 2019
James Nunally, BMI

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Nell & Jim Band Berkeley, California

The Nell & Jim Band joins five genre-busting artists together, bringing their audiences joyful music infused with folk, bluegrass, Americana, roots, swing, and jazz. Featuring Nell Robinson on flute & vocals, Jim Nunally on guitar & vocals, Jim Kerwin on bass fiddle, Jon Arkin on percussion, and Rob Reich on accordion & keyboards, this is truly an all-star band. ... more

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