Frank Tovey - I.K.B. - R.I.P. lyrics

As we pa**ed beneath the westway I was not thinking straight Parallel to the great western railway Was where i met my fate The journey it was a long one It was only time to lose Just then i spied a solitary figure Staring at his shoes Wearing a stove-pipe hat Blowing smoke like the fires of hell No need to ask his name It was isambard kingdom brunel My companion and i introduced ourselves He turned and tipped his hat I asked if i could be of any a**istance He said it was too late for that Muddy tracks led back to kensal green cemetery The graveyard next to the line I noticed the dates sn the tombstone Eighteen six to eighteen fifty-nine Why had he died so young Only he could tell Was it the great leviathan k**ed isambard kingdom brunel? His eyes burned through to the back of my head As though he could read my mind I was beginning to wonder Which one of us was the ghost When i left this century behind The westway vanished into thin air So did the high-rise flats Suddenly i was smoking a big cigar And wearing a stove-pipe hat To cut a tall story short We slipped back in time for a spell And now i know what makes a man tick Like isambard kingdom brunel I found myself in the napier yard On the isle of dogs The crowds had come to see leviathan Leave the millwall docks The press lined up with their pens dipped in blood The cynics here to disprove November the deadline for the creditors But the great ship still wouldn't move The papers talked of the shame A scandal was always a good sell So they slandered the engineer's name Poor isambard kingdom brunel I watched them struggle with that hulk One man had already died As the crowds jeered and laughed at brunel I turned my head and cried When building the great eastern steamship All seemed doomed to fail His coffin already built at millwall John scott russel hammered in the nails Months pa**ed with the ship high and dry He worked on though he was not well But such was the determination Of isambard kingdom brunel The ship finally floated and awaited her fittings Supplied by russel and co They made mistakes and changed the plans Without letting isambard know So many problems had beset this venture Leaving the poor man a wreck Isambard suffered a ma**ive stroke And fell paralysed to the deck He layed like a ship on the rocks Not rising with the swell They'd broken the man but not the spirit Of isambard kingdom brunel I was on the great eastern on her maiden trip That fateful September morning What came to pa** was an incredible blow The pa**engers had no warning Pressure had built up in the feedwater heaters It was only a matter of time As the explosion blew away the for'ard funnel Six men in the engine-room died With the great engineer on his d**hbed The news was hard to tell The shock was too much and it took the last breath Of isambard kingdom brunel In a flash we were back in the present The ghost weeping into nis chest I asked if i proved the success of his creation Would he then lay to rest? The spectre nodded its head And a book to it i did hand Showing how his ship laid the first telegraph From britain to newfoundland His face did seem to lighten As this venture did unfurl The great eastern under his old friend gooch Had laid cables all 'round the world Go build your castles in heaven In this half-world you should not dwell Now rest in peace your weary soul Isambard kingdom brunel