Emigrant Eyes

Old Ellis Island was swarming
 Like a scene from a costume ball
 Decked out in the colors of Europe
 And on fire with the hope of it all
 There my father's own father stood huddled
 With the tired and the hungry and scared
 Turn of the century pilgrims
 Bound by the dream that they shared
 They were standing in lines just like cattle
 Poked and sodded and shoved
 Some were one desk away from sweet freedom
 Some torn from someone they love
 Through this sprawling tower of Babel
 Came a young man confused and alone
 Determined and bound for America
 Carrying everything that he owned
 Sometimes when I look in my grandfather's emigrant eyes
 I see that day reflected and I can't hold my feelings inside
 I see starting with nothing and working hard all of his life
 So don't take it for granted, say grandfather's emigrant eyes
 Now he rocks and stares out the window
 But his eyes are still just as clear
 As the day he sailed through the harbor
 And come ashore on the island of tears
 My grandfather's days are numbered
 But I won't let his memory die
 He gave me the gift of this country
 And the look in his emigrant eyes
 Sometimes when I look in my grandfather's emigrant eyes
 I see that day reflected and I can't hold my feelings inside
 I see starting with nothing and working hard all of his life
 So don't take it for granted, say grandfather's emigrant eyes