Boes
I waited today for a freight train to pass.
Cattle cars with steers butting their horns against the
bars, went by.
And a half a dozen hoboes stood on bumpers between
cars.
Well, the cattle are respectable, I thought.
Every steer has its transportation paid for by the farmer
sending it to market,
While the hoboes are law-breakers in riding a railroad
train without a ticket.
It reminded me of ten days I spent in the Allegheny
County jail in Pittsburgh.
I got ten days even though I was a veteran of the
Spanish-American war.
Cooped in the same cell with me was an old man, a
bricklayer and a booze-fighter.
But it just happened he, too, was a veteran soldier, and
he had fought to preserve the Union and free the
niggers.
We were three in all, the other being a Lithuanian who
got drunk on pay day at the steel works and got to
fighting a policeman;
All the clothes he had was a shirt, pants and shoes--
somebody got his hat and coat and what money he
had left over when he got drunk.
poem by Carl Sandburg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Last Hobo
This song was first released on the all aboard! album. it is the only album it has been released on.
He was born in international falls a long, long time ago
Moved to tucumcan when the ironwork got show
He was cornbread and hard scrabble and scratching for every dime
till he threw it in and he kilt the road to walk that endless line
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Leaving here
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Away from here
He tried his hand at lots of jobs and he did em all with pride
From shoeing mules to driving trucks, he mastered what he tried
It must have been ramona, she was all he cared about
When she ran away and left him you could see the fire go out
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Away from here
We hardly ever see him
Once or twice and he would stay a day or two
Hed ask about ramona
Then hed say that he was only passing through
Now he knows every railroad bull along the right of way
And every hobo jungle from new york to santa fe
Hes looked for his ramona on the far side of the hill
Now his sun is sinking lower and hes looking for her still
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Leaving from here
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Away from here
Words and music by george allen
song performed by by John Denver
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Freight Train Blues
(first releasetraditional, arranged by bob dylan)
I was born in dixie in a boomers shack,
Just a little shanty by the railroad track
Freight train was it taught me how to cry,
The holler of the driver was my lullaby.
Ive got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy mama got em on the bottom of my ramblin shoes
And when the whistle blows, I gotta go
Baby dont you know
It looks like Im never gonna lose
The freight train blues.
Well, my daddy was a fireman and my mama hear
She was the only daughter of the engineer
My sweetheart loved the brakeman and that aint no joke
Its a shame the way she keeps a good man broke.
I got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy I got em in the bottom of my ramblin shoes
And when the whistle blows, I gotta go
Oh mama dont you know
Well it looks like Im never gonna lose
The freight train blues.
Well, the only thing that makes you laugh again
Is a south bound whistle on a south bound train
Every place I want to go
I never can go because you know
Because I got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy mama, got em on the bottom of my ramblin shoes
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Railroad Days
Jan would climb up so high on the foul screen
Down below I would yell to watch out
When we'd play ? was always the winner
He was brave never listened to me shout
Afternoons playin' ball by the old wall
Hidin' out and of course be the star
Kept my records in old looseleaf notebooks
And today I think I still know where they are
Oh, Railroad days
Railroad days
Railroad days
When I was young, in my prime
On my way
When the rain never got in my way
oh in my younger railroad days
Some nights, Drifters playin' on the hi-fi
Talkin' 'bout girls, or preposterous lies
Laughin hard, watchin' Soupy at eleven
Skonkin' down, one of Mom's lemon pies
Ten o'clock, bringin' groceries from the market
Singin songs, to the darkness of the night
Even sang the parts the instruments were playing
Life was freer, dreams were really quite all right
Oh, Railroad days
Railroad days
Railroad days
When the sun seemed to smile on it's way
When the darkness was easier to play yeah
oh in my younger railroad days
Yesterday, I heard they shut the trains down
The ones than ran, by the field where I would play
Said the folks want new and faster transportation
It's just like me, I'll be obsolete one day
Oh, Railroad days
Railroad days
Railroad days
When I was young, in my prime
On my way
When the rain never got in my way
oh in my younger railroad days
song performed by by Bob Seger
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Barricades & Brickwalls
Barricades and brickwalls won't keep me
from you
You can tie me down on the railroad
track
You can let that freight train lose
Iron bars and big ole cars
Won't run me out of town
I'll be damned if you're not my man
Before the sun goes down
You can chain me down
On the edge of town
You can leave me there to die
But the railroad track
Will bring me back
When the lonesome whistle cries
You can lock me out
You can scream and shout
You can try to change your name
But by the end of the day
I'll take you away
Like a force 10 hurricane
song performed by by Kasey Chambers from Barricades & Brickwalls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Old Gunn's Gully Line
The ole train puffs in once a day
On the ole Gunn's Gully line;
In a lazy, leisurely kind o' way
She comes in, wet or fine.
Nobody wants her, nobody needs her,
Nobody likes her, nobody heeds; her
Usefulness is done.
But, wet or fine, or sun or shine,
That ole train's got to run.
A man an' a dog, they loaf about
To watch the train come in;
An' a man an' a boy an' a bag get out
With Bowyang's ole cream-tin.
An' all men say wot all men know:
That all things are as all things show,
An' the trip don't pay for grease.
But, come wot may, the Heads they say
Them trips must never cease.
Now, to an' from the market town,
On the new Gunn's Gully road,
The motor cars speed up an' down,
An' trucks with many a load,
For there's the road, an' there's the car,
An' there's the chance; so, there you are!
Let progress forge ahead!
But the Heads they say them cars must pay
Or the ole train might dropp dead.
The ole train puffs out once a day
On the ole Gunn's Gully spin;
With a man inside, some days, to ride
With Bowyang's old cream-tin.
And men ask, Why? An' men ask who
The ole train serves like the morors do?
But the Heads must have their fun.
So they shoves a tax on the people's backs;
For that ole train's-got-to-run!
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hank Williams Version Of Freight Train Blues
Freight train blues written by john lair 1935. recorded by roy acuffs
Crazy tennesseans 1936, dynamite hatcher vocal, acuff mimics the train
Whistle.
This is hank williams 1939-40 version on the 10 cd box set from mercury.
(c) I was born in dixie in a boomers shack,
Just a little old shanty by a (g7) railroad (c) track,
The hummin of the drivers was my lullaby,
And a freight train whistle taught me (g7) how to (c) cry.
Chorus:
(c) Ive got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin (g7) shoes,
And (c) when that whistle blows, Ive gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess Im never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
(c) now my pappy was a fireman and my mammy dear,
Was the only daughter of an (g7) en-gin- (c) eer,
My sister married a brakeman and it aint no joke,
Now its a shame the way she keeps a (g7) good man (c) broke.
Chorus: (one word changed, that whistle, to, the whistle.)
(c) Ive got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin (g7) shoes,
And(c) when the whistle blows, Ive gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess Im never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Am A Veteran
I am a veteran.
Once a young patriot who had volunteered,
To join the military.
And it was clear a sacrificing of my life,
Was a possibility.
And yet the thought of it did not frighten me.
I am a veteran.
I did not decide,
To slide over onto Candadian borders...
Thinking I could avoid my responsibility.
With an escaping of a draft I did not receive.
I wanted to protect those deserving of freedom.
I am a veteran.
One of the Vietnam War Era.
I didn't walk the halls of an Ivy League college.
To party in between studying for a degree.
No!
But I did take college courses and studied diligently,
While also performing my military duties.
I am a veteran.
One who is Black 'and' American AND proud to be.
But as a veteran I have learned,
The battles I continue to fight...
Are needlessly fought on the streets of my own country.
With people who did not serve a duty at all...
But feel they are more deserving of entitlements,
And a respect not shown to me.
Yes...
I AM a veteran.
But yet I am expected to support,
Those who feed their greed.
As I am perceived,
Not to be worthy!
And so hard it is for me not to believe,
The color of my skin is the reason for that.
I am a veteran.
Conditioned to aware of the facts.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Freight Train Blues
(c) i was born in dixie in a boomer's shack,
Just a little old shanty by a (g7) railroad (c) track,
The hummin' of the drivers was my lullaby,
And a freight train whistle taught me (g7) how to (c) cry.
Chorus:
(c) i've got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got 'em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin' (g7) shoes,
And (c) when that whistle blows, i've gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess i'm never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
(c) now my pappy was a fireman and my mammy dear,
Was the only daughter of an (g7) en-gin- (c) eer,
My sister married a brakeman and it ain't no joke,
Now it's a shame the way she keeps a (g7) good man (c) broke.
Chorus: (one word changed, that whistle, to, the whistle.)
(c) i've got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got 'em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin' (g7) shoes,
And(c) when the whistle blows, i've gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess i'm never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Long Lost John
-hmm, I think the piano maybe is better, I just realised the ......? ..........hmm....hello, yoko...yeah!.
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Long, long, lost john.
Lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Yeah, long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, long lost john
Well, hes long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the.......
Well, long, long, long john
Well, oh yeah.
I got it about at half past three
You dont look out, shes gonna spew on me
Im gonna run, railroad bill
Im gonna ru....
-hello, richard? mo, mo, Im different, thats one of the problems with it
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Long Lost John
-hmm, I think the piano maybe is better, I just realised the ......? ..........hmm....hello, yoko...yeah!.
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Long, long, lost john.
Lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Yeah, long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, long lost john
Well, hes long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the.......
Well, long, long, long john
Well, oh yeah.
I got it about at half past three
You dont look out, shes gonna spew on me
Im gonna run, railroad bill
Im gonna ru....
-hello, richard? mo, mo, Im different, thats one of the problems with it
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lost Horizons
The last horizons I can see are filled with bars and factories
And in them all we fight to stay awake...
Drink enough of anything to make this world look new again
Drunk drunk drunk in the gardens and the graves
She had nothing left to say so she said she loved me
I stood there grateful for the lie...
Drink enough of anything to make this girl look new again
Drunk drunk drunk in the gardens and the graves
Turn summer trees to bones and ice
Turn insect songs against the night
With words we build and words we break
Im drunk drunk drunk in the gardens and the graves...
Drink enough of anything to make myself look new again
Drunk drunk drunk in the gardens and the graves
song performed by by Gin Blossoms
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Best Of All Possible Worlds
I was runnin' through the summer rain tryin' to catch the evenin' train
And kill that old familiar pain weevin' through my tangled brain
When I tipped my bottle back I smacked into a cop I didn't see
That policeman said Mr Cool if you're ain't drunk then you're a fool
I said if that's against the law tell me why I never saw
A man locked in that jail of yours who wadn't just as lowdown poor as me
Well that was when someone turned out the lights
And I wound up in jail to spend the night
And dream of all the wine and lonely girls in this best of all possible worlds
Well I woke up next morning feelin' like my head was gone
And like my thick old tongue was lickin' somethin' sick and wrong
And I told that man I'd sell my soul if somethin' wet and cold is that old cell
That kindly jailer grinned at me all eaten up with sympathy
Then bought himself another beer and came and whispered in my ear
That booze was just a dime a bottle boy you couldn't even buy the smell
I said I knew there was somethin' I liked about this town
But it takes more than that to bring me down down down
Cause there's still a lot of wine and lonely girls in this best of all possible worlds
Well they finally came and told me they was a gonna set me free
And I'd be leavin' town if I knew what was good for me
I said it's nice to learn that everybody's so concerned about my health
I said I won't be leavin' no more quicker than I can
Cause I've enjoyed about this much of this as I can stand
And I don't need this town of yours more than I've never needed nothing else
Cause there's still a lotta drinks that I ain't drunk
Lots of pretty thoughts that I ain't thought oh yeah
Lord there's still so many lonely girls in this best of all possible worlds
song performed by by Kris Kristofferson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Big Train
John fogerty
When i was young, i spent my summer days
Playin' on the track.
The sound of the wheels rollin' on the steel
Took me out, took me back.
Big train from memphis,
Big train from memphis,
Now it's gone gone gone, gone gone gone.
Like no one before, he let out a roar,
And i just had to tag along.
Each night i went to bed with the sound in my head,
And the dream was a song.
Big train from memphis,
Big train from memphis,
Now it's gone gone gone, gone gone gone.
Well i've rode 'em in and back out again
You know what they say about trains;
But i'm tellin' you when that memphis train came through,
This ol' world was not the same.
Big train from memphis,
Big train from memphis,
Now it's gone gone gone, gone gone gone.
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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City Of New Orleans
This song appears on three albums, and was first released on the poems, prayers and promises album, is also available on the country roads collection album and has also been rerecorded on all ab
Album.
Riding on the city of new orleans
Illinios central, monday morning rail
15 cars and 15 restless riders
3 conductors and 25 sacks of mail
All along a southbound odyssey
The train pulls out of kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields
Passing trains that have no name
Freight yards full of old black men
The graveyards of the rusted automobiles
Singing good morning america, how are you?
Saying, dont you know me Im your native son?
Im the train they call the city of new orleans
Ill be gone 500 miles when the day is done
Dealing cards with the old men in the club car
Penny a point, aint no one keeping score
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels a rumbling neath the floor
And the sons of pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their fathers magic carpet made of steel
And mothers with their babes asleep
Rockin to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel
Singing good morning america, how are you?
Saying dont you know me, Im your native son?
Im the train they call the city of new orleans
Ill be gone 500 miles when the day is done
Nighttime on the city of new orleans
Changing cars in memphis, tennessee
Halfway home and well be there by morning
Through the mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea
But all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still aint heard the news
The conductor sings his song again
The passengers will please refrain
This train has got the disappearing railroad blues
Singing good morning america, how are you?
Saying dont you know me, Im your native son?
Im the train they call the city of new orleans
Ill be gone 500 miles when the day is done
Words and music by steve goodman
song performed by by John Denver
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Skull Ring
(feat. The Stooges)
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Money
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Fancy things
The touch of a hand in the wasteland
you're walking asleep and dreaming cheap
A bird's wing don't beat for free
You're freezing cold and your family
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Money
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Fancy things
Fingers on fire to do what's bad
Ring on the finger is a skull man
Strong as a bar of steel
Weakness is that you can't feel
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Money
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Fancy things
My life is dirtied, my mind is loaded
I'm feeling and breathing and fighting
To see
People get ready now
Baby come on give your heart to me
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Money
Skull rings
Fast cars
Hot chicks
Fancy things
song performed by by Iggy Pop
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Cars Are Cars
Words & music by paul simon 1983
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Similarly made. similarly sold
In a motorcade. abandoned when theyre old
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Engine in the front. jack in the back
Wheels take the brunt. pinion and a rack
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
But people are strangers
They change with the curve
From time zone to time zone
As we can observe
They shut down their borders
And think theyre immune
They stand on their differences
And shoot at the moon
But cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Drive em on the left. drive em on the right
Susceptible to theft in the middle of the night
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
I once had a car
That was more like a home
I lived in it, loved in it
Polished its chrome
If some of my homes
Had been more like my car
I probably wouldnt have
Travelled this far
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
song performed by by Paul Simon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Cattle Call (feat. Eddy Arnold)
[LEANN]
[Yodels]
The cattle are prowlin'
The coyotes are howlin'
Way out where the doggies roam
Where the spurs are a jinglin'
And the cowboy is singin'
His lonesome cattle call
[Yodels]
He rides in the sun
'Til his days work is done,
And he rounds up the cattle each fall
[Yodels]
Singing his cattle call
[EDDY]
For hours he would ride
On the range far and wide
When the night winds blows up like smoke
His heart is a feather
In all kinds of weather
He sings his cattle call
[Yodels]
He's browned as a fairy
From riding the prairie
And he sings with an old western drawl
[Yodels]
Singin' his cattle call
song performed by by LeAnn Rimes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Train Misser
At Union Station
'Ll where in the world my eyes has bin--
Ef I hain't missed that train ag'in!
Chuff! And whistle! And toot! And ring!
But blast and blister the dasted train--!
How it does it I can't explain!
Git here thirty-five minutes before
The durn things due--! And, drat the thing
It'll manage to git past-shore!
The more I travel around, the more
I got no sense--! To stand right here
And let it beat me! 'Ll ding my melts!
I got no gumption, ner nothin' else!
Ticket Agent's a dad-burned bore--!
Sell you a tickets all they keer--!
Ticket Agents ort to all be
Prosecuted-- and that's jes what--!
How'd I know which train's fer me?
And how'd I know which train was not--?
Goern and comin' and gone astray,
And backin' and switchin' ever'-which-way!
Ef I could jes sneak round behind
Myse'f, where I could git full swing,
I'd lift my coat, and kick, by jing!
Till I jes got jerked up and fined--!
Fer here I stood, as a durn fool's apt
To, and let that train jes chuff and choo
Right apast me-- and mouth jes gapped
Like a blamed old sandwitch warped in two!
poem by James Whitcomb Riley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Midnight Train
(instrumental intro)
Oh my darling will you come to me
Shaking now just like a willow tree
So tell me whats the story
This track well ride to glory
Coming home
Pretty karla and her russian clothes
Clapboard house and a different nose
Love keeps a candle burning
These steel wheels are turning
Back for home
Come in out of the rain
Come out of the night
Out on the midnight train
Midnight train
Come out of the light
Come out of the rain
Riding the midnight train
Midnight train
Moscow lights, well they dim and glow
The taste is sweeter than its driven snow
So tell me whats the story
This track to ride to glory
Coming home
Come out of the rain, come out of the lights,
Out on the midnight train, midnight train
Come out of the lights, come out in the rain,
Riding the midnight train, midnight train
(instrumental)
Oh my darling will you come to me
Shaking now just like a willow tree
Come out of the lights, come out in the rain,
Riding the midnight train, midnight train
Out of the rain, live again, riding the midnight train, midnight train
Come of the lights, into the rain, riding the midnight train, midnight train
One little strange, come back again
(instrumental fade out)
song performed by by Ufo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Freight Train
Well I just came down from Chippewa
I had a station wagon and a hundred dollars
I was thinkin' about the girl I'd lost a year before
I hadn't seen her for some time
I thought that I might go on by
When your memory came floodin' in
And you closed that door
[CHORUS:]
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a diesel locomotive
I'd come whistlin' down your track
Crashin' in your door
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I didn't have a heart
And you'd need a shovel for the coal
Just to get me started
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a freight train
Well every time I talk to you
And I hear your jealous lies
I feel like I've been left abandoned
On some old railway side
And every time I hear your voice
My water just gets cold
My stoker will not stoke
And my boiler will not boil
[CHORUS]
Well every time I fell behind
And I could not get ahead
I wish someone would pull the lever
And give me a little sand
And every time I slip behind
Even further back
I wish some switchman would come out of the fog
And change my track
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a diesel locomotive
I'd come whistlin' down your track
Crashin' in your door
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I didn't have a heart
And you'd need a shovel for the coal
Just to get me started
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a freight train . . .
song performed by by Kasey Chambers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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