In merry Great Britain,

When folks went on a cruise…

They’d ride a train to the dock

To sail the oceans blue.

–

In the nineteen sixties-seventies,

New England had boat trains…

Taking scrap metal

To Boston on railroad mains…

–

All this bulk scrap metal

Was loaded into ships….

Bound as planned for Japan,

Becoming cars  and paper clips!

–

While American car makers

Were poor  reliability…

Japanese were the market shakers,

A higher quality product, you see.

–

Some folks always thought

Exporting scrap was fraught…

With such imposition

Helping competition,

With an automobile onslaught!

–

–Jonathan Caswell

(At least that’ how I remember it!)