Lyrics:

Bill Mallonee suggests that “Bethlehem Steel” is about “the hollowness of life’s pleasures and the joy we tend to live in frequent denial of,” a common enough subject for him.
We ain't keeping secrets
We ain't telling lies
Going public with this one
Going nationwide
Hey, start the presses
This ain't pay-per-view
Roll the cameras, this is front page news
Roll the cameras, this is front page news

You can buy a little
And you can buy a whole lot more
Can't take a red nickel of it with you
When you go
And go you will
And go you shall
Go sooner or later
Go then and now

Hammer come down, you're gonna spin the wheel
Coming forth true like Bethlehem steel

Whisper in the office
Tell it in the shop
Speak about it in the studio
Shout it from the highest rooftop
Hey, I'm very thirsty
But I can't complain
Stuck in the desert but expecting rain
Stuck in the desert but expecting rain

Hammer come down, let the bells peal
Coming forth true like Bethlehem steel
Bethlehem steel


And you sleep because you're lonely
And you sleep because it's night
And you sleep, well, 'cause only
You've been doing it your whole life
Yeah, it's one thing to be dead in
In your trespasses, and then again
It's quite another to remain in them
It's quite another to remain in them

Hammer come down, you're gonna spin the wheel
Coming forth true like Bethlehem steel
Oh, Bethlehem steel