I made a trip back to my hometown last week
For my grandparent's fifty year annivers'ry
It was black leather wingtips, and big bouffant hair
Your typical senior affair

They were cuttin' the rug to a Glen Miller tune
When someone stood up and tapped a glass with a spoon
It was old Eddie Vicker's granddaddy's best man
And his very best friend to this day
And his eyes grew misty as he raised his champagne

He said, “Here's to the makers of things built to last
Like church bells and bridges, and baseball on grass
Like Ferguson tractors and Lucchese boots
My daddy's old tools I still use

The pledge of allegiance, the stars and the stripes,
The words in the Bible, the sun in the sky
And here's to the twinkle in old married eyes
Still there after fifty years past
Here's to the makers of things built to last"

We live in a world now of plastic and glue
Disposable honor, replaceable truth
And if a pot breaks, why fix it? Man, what's the use?
It costs less to buy it brand new

Oh but lately I've looked in the eyes of my wife
And I see there what matters the most in this life
And I have decided I'm takin' a stand
To stay on that fifty year plan
Inspired by the words of a very wise man

He said, “Here's to the makers of things built to last
Like church bells and bridges, and baseball on grass
Like Ferguson tractors and Lucchese boots
My daddy's old tools I still use

The pledge of allegiance, the stars and the stripes,
The words in the Bible, the sun in the sky
And here's to the twinkle in old married eyes
Still there after fifty years past
Here's to the makers of things built to last"
Here's to the makers of things built to last