Song Description

Story of a family all connectied to Pier 21 as all immigrants went through the Pier.

Lyrics

Pier 21

He crossed the cold Atlantic back in 1905
An orphan boy just 12 years old sent to start a new life
As they pulled into the harbour on that cold December day
I don't know what I woulda done if I were no man's son
Standing all alone on Pier 21

That boy was my grandfather William was his name
Like so many orphans kids whose story was the same
He went to work to pay his passage, took 5 years to clear his debt
Left that farm when he was done for the new life he'd begun
Standing all alone on Pier 21

And when he married Maggie in 1918
It was like a dream come true
And she gave birth to my dad Willie number two
When hard times came, they got through

When the second war broke out they gave my dad a gun
And his boat shipped out from Pier 21
He came home the same way but he couldn't bring his bride
She must have wondered what she'd done when they finally let her come
And she was standing all alone on Pier 21

She took the train across the country in 1946
Gave my dad a kiss when he met her at the station
If she missed the life she left well she never let us see
Cuz the family needed raising

Now a hundred years have passed since that orphan boy arrived
And I'm standing in this place with my arms around my wife
We look out across the harbour like so many souls have done
Well I think how far we've come and our dreams have just begun
As we stand here with our son on Pier 21
I think how far we've come and our dreams have just begun
As we stand here with our son on Pier 21