Memento
Scattered through the ragtaggle underbrush starting to show green shoots
lie the dark remains of rail sleepers napping now beside the rusted-out wreck
of a Chevy that was once sky-blue and now is nothing but shattered panels and
anonymous bits of engine in the ditch by a path that was once a railway line
cut between small hills whose silence hasn't been broken by the rattle and
lonesome-blown whistle of a train for fifty years and whose air hasn't filled
for ages with my childhood's smell (set by Seapoint on the coastal line) of coal
smoke and hot steam puffed up in great cloud-breaths out of a black-sooted chimney.
poem by Eamon Grennan
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Janice and You at Waterloo Station
At Waterloo Station
the steam engines
puffed powerful steam
reaching up
to the rooftop
and you stood there
hands in your pockets
your nose sniffing in
the white and grey smell
you can taste it
on your tongue
and Janice beside you
her eyes looked up
at the rooftop
as the steam
reached high
her hands clutching
the small bag
I want to be a train driver
when I'm older
you said
I want to smell
that smell
and breathe in
that steam and shovel
coal in the engine
maybe you will
Janice said
maybe you'll be
on a train like that
big and black
and powerful
she put her hand
under your arm
and squeezed
Gran said we can be
what we want
if we want it
bad enough
Janice added
you felt her hand
under your arm
sensed her squeeze it
we went to the seaside
on a big black train
like this last year
you said
and I put my head
out the train window
and my mum said
keep your head in
or a train
will knock it off
that'd be horrible
Janice said
she clutched
closer to you
as the steam train
puffed out more steam
and the sound was loud
and powerful
and she said
maybe
when you're an engine driver
you can take me
to the seaside
with Gran
yes
you said
and if you come
to the engine
before you take off
I can show you
the engine
and how powerful it is
and she smiled
and put her head
on your shoulder
yes
you said softly
when I grow up
and when I am older.
poem by Terry Collett
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Welsh Highland Railway
A belch of smoke and steam,
and a whistle wail
we move with a clickty-clack along the rails.
Then with the train then gathering speed,
our journey begins with more whistle wails.
The carriage throws us around this way and that
as the old steam train rolls down the track.
Visions of happy days gone by,
with billowing smoke and steam.
Fragrancing the air on our ride
of nostalgic days and old ways.
As we ride the rails on a train
of the Welsh Highland Railway.
poem by David Harris
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Railway Station
My dear railway station, my treasure
Of meetings and partings, my friend
In times of hard trials and pleasure,
Your favours have been without end.
My scarf would wrap up my whole being -
The train would pull up, with deep sighs,
The muzzles of brash harpies, leering,
Would puff wet white steam in our eyes.
I'd sit at your side for a moment -
A hug and a kiss, brief and rough.
Farewell then, my joy and my torment.
I'm going, conductor, I'm off!
And, shunting bad weather and sleepers,
The west would break open-I'd feel
It grab me with snowflakes to keep me
From falling down under the wheels.
A whistle dies down, echoed weakly,
Another flies from distant tracks.
A train comes past bare platforms sweeping -
A blizzard of many hunched backs.
And twilight is rearing to go,
And, lured by the smoke and the steam,
The wind and the field rush and now
I wish I could be one of them!
poem by Boris Pasternak
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Steam Engine
Lead vocal: micky dolenz
Produced by: chip douglas
Mr. engineer, slow the engine down some more.
Youre movin just a little too fast,
Ive got my foot down clear to the floor.
Steam engine, engine 99
Steam drivers, rollin right on by.
Mr. engineer, you see Ive got a little problem here.
My baby, shes aboard your train,
She says shes never comin back again.
Steam engine, engine 99
Steam drivers, rollin right on by.
She told me good bye, she said Im leavin you behind.
I think Im gonna die, if I hear that whistle whine.
Mr. engineer, slow the engine down some more.
Youre movin movin just a little too fast,
Ive got my foot down clear to the floor.
Steam engine, engine 99
Steam drivers, rollin right on by.
(steam engines)gotta keep on keep on rollin.
(steam engines)shes gonna leave me behind.
(steam engines)i might as well go home.
(steam engines)shes gonna leave me behind.
(steam engines)i might as well go home.
song performed by by Monkees
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Abandoned Train Station Near Grandmother's Grave
.
for Lida Harris
Then died there the rose beside the house of tin.
The track bore no train for years.
Weeds traveled tendriled and
yellow rooted between trestles.
Broken vessels whistled through
shattered teeth of glass.
Only wind and no rusted train passed.
Though the scene bears dislocation,
though the brain remembers station and motion
of steam engine and iron wheel rotation
the places of old gone passing
bear no malice toward stillness.
All around mute remains remind the
occasional passer of former days;
an old snuff tin crumbled in a reverent hand
longs for the woman grasping then,
holds sweet dust beneath her tongue
as the land must hold her now where is
no whisper but sleep beyond sleep.
Weeds to the eye are sad between rails
but listening to their green and yellow belles
the rightness of their swaying displaces all sorrow.
Their distance is a distance one cannot know
but only borrow in imagination by extension
of miles, their reach is ours then, translated
green and longing, their leaves throng the
evening air, in silent clamor fling down seed
to summer's blundering prayer.
poem by Warren Falcon
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Blue Train
Well, I looked for my baby
Bout the break of day
I said, I looked for my baby
Bout the break of day.
But a blue train took my baby away
Now the rail is rusted and the road is long
I said, the rail is rusted and the road is long
And that blue train wont bring my baby home.
I hear that whistle moaning
Steel whinning on the track
But that blue train
Wont bring my baby back.
Im going down to the station
Down that road, Im going.
Gonna catch that blue train
Bring my baby home
Gonna catch that blue train.
Gonna bring my baby back...
song performed by by Kenny Rogers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Fishing in Winter
A man staring at a small lake sees
His father cast light line out over
The willows.He's forgotten his
Father has been dead for two years
And the lake is where a blue fog
Rolls, and the sky could be, if it
Were black or blue or white,
The backdrop of all attention.
He wades out to join the father,
Following where the good strikes
Seem to lead.It's cold.The shape
Breath takes on a cold day is like
Anything else--a rise on a small lake,
The Oklahoma hills, blue scrub--
A shape already inside a shape,
Two songs, two breaths on the water.
poem by Ralph Burns
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Blue And Lonesome
The lonesome sound of a train goin' by
Makes me want to stop and cry
I recall the day it took you away
I'm blue and I'm lonesome too.
Whn I hear that lonesome whistle blow
Well I want to pack my suitcase and go
The lonesome sound of a train goin' by
Makes me want to stop and cry.
In the still of the night in the pale moonlight
The wind did blow and sigh
These awful blues I just can't loose
I'm blue and I'm lonesome too.
When I hear that lonesome whistle blow
Well I want to pack my suitcase and go
The lonesome sound of the train goin' by
Makes me want to stop and cry.
I'm blue and I'm lonesome too.
song performed by by Phish
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Blue & Lonesome
The lonesome sound of a train goin by
Makes me want to stop and cry
I recall the day it took you away
Im blue and Im lonesome too.
Whn I hear that lonesome whistle blow
Well I want to pack my suitcase and go
The lonesome sound of a train goin by
Makes me want to stop and cry.
In the still of the night in the pale moonlight
The wind did blow and sigh
These awful blues I just cant loose
Im blue and Im lonesome too.
When I hear that lonesome whistle blow
Well I want to pack my suitcase and go
The lonesome sound of the train goin by
Makes me want to stop and cry.
Im blue and Im lonesome too.
song performed by by Phish
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Im So Lonesome I Could Cry
Hank williams
Did you hear that lonesome whippoorwill?
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
And Im so lonesome I could cry
Did you ever see a night so long
When time goes crawlin by?
The moon just went behind a cloud
And Im so lonesome I could cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
That means hes lost the will to live
And Im so lonesome I could cry
The silence of a fallin star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
Im so lonesome I could cry
Yeah i-i could cry-eye-eye
I could cry-eye, eye-eye-eye, i-i could cry-eye
I could cry-eye, oh-oh-oh-oh
I-i could cry, I could cry
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Got A Line On You
Yeah.
Oh yeah, come on.
Now, let me take you babe, down to the river bed
Well, I got to tell you something
That'll go right through your head
I got a line on you babe
[I got a line on you babe]
Yeah, I got a line on you
[I got a line on you babe]
Come on.
Now, put your arms around me, every little bit of your love
Oh, you know what to do, I'll make love to you
You got the right stuff, and I do too
I got a line on you babe
[I got a line on you babe]
Yeah, I got a line on you
[I got a line on you babe]
Yeah!
Got my eye on you babe, on your velvet skin
I wanna put my hands were they've never been
Get real hot in the midnight steam
Soaking in the rain of my favorite dream
Your lips are red, the moon is blue
I only ask you once what you want to do
Gonna touch you babe 'til the night is through
Look out honey, got a line on you
Oh yeah.
Oh, now the winter's almost over,
The summer she's coming on strong.
Oh I could love you, love you, love you, love you all year long
I got a line on you babe
[I got a line on you babe]
Yeah, I got a line on you
[I got a line on you babe]
Ah yeah!
I got a line on you babe
[I got a line on you babe]
Yeah, I got a line on you
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
I got a line on you babe
[I got a line on you babe]
I got a line on you
I got a line on you babe.
song performed by by Alice Cooper
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Im So Lonesome I Could Cry
Hear the lonesome whiperwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
Im so lonesome I could cry
Ive never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide its face and cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die
That means hes lost the will to live
Im so lonesome I could cry
The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
Im so lonesome I could cry
song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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0041 Goods train in the night
Film meets the poetic image,
and in some things never fails – as when
out there alone in the prairie -
the steppes, the tundra,
snowfields, desert -
past midnight, the heavens
a carpet of stars, maybe a flash
over the horizon of Northern Lights,
or the centered assurance of the Southern Cross,
silence broken only by a howl,
was that a wolf,
just one observer as
a camera, a poet, whom
we never see..
and then a distant sound and
one plaintive assertive impersonal wail and
almost too soon, the fast rhythmic rattle
of a goods train on the railway line over there
but near enough to shake the scene, and
seemingly endless; minutes pass? then as suddenly
it’s past, it’s gone… and the silence following
is deeper, huge, saying something huge
by the absence of anything said…or
back in the city, the child rewarded for trust by trust,
allowed to wander the railway goods yard
next to the gasworks down the sulphured end of town,
miniatured rail tracks leading to the glowing maw
of the furnaces; but all afternoon-sleepy between trains except for
over there, the ceaseless smack and clang and clink of chain and
barely audible sigh of wagon wheels and buffers
as invisible engine and railwaymen shunt and couple,
shunt, uncouple, couple, empty wagons for return
to far-off places named upon their sides…
was this how I learned to make poetry,
shunting, uncoupling, coupling
empty words into lines of trucks that have direction,
to return to heart's-truth and poetry
and timely, late at night, out there in the waiting solitude
to disturb that great silence under a canopy of stars,
singing their rhythm in the dreaming night
with the assurance of human company,
leaving behind them
a deeper silence in the listening heart
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Visit to the Train Station.
You and Fay got off the bus
and walked towards Waterloo train station
and you said
I often come here
just to see and smell
and hear the steam trains
and she looked about her
at the sights and sounds
and smell of steam off the trains
at the platforms
and she said
I haven't been here
since my parents took us
to the seaside once
and my father was in a cross mood
all day because we wanted to play
on the beach and he wanted to go
to the pubs and my mother sat there
most of the day watching us
in a solemn silence
and she jump back a little
when a stream engine
blew out loudly nearby
and she laughed
and so did you
and as you stood there
in your faded jeans
and off white tee shirt
and she in her pink
summery dress
she took your hand
in her small hand
and you watched her
out of the corner of your eye
and she seemed to be so alive
and happy and all the dark times
of her father and his moods
and stern punishments
seemed momentarily
to have fled
and a glint of sunshine
and happiness came
and rested there
instead.
poem by Terry Collett
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Beat It On Down The Line
Well this job Ive got is just a little too hard,
Running out of money, lord, I need more pay.
Gonna wake up in the morning lord, gonna pack my bags,
Im gonna beat it on down the line.
Im goin down the line, goin down the line,
Goin down the line, goin down the line,
Goin down the line, goin down the line,
Beat it on down the line.
Yes Ill be waiting at the station lord, when that train pulls on by,
Im going back where I belong.
Im going back to that same old used-to-be,
Down in joe browns coal mine.
Coal mine, coal mine, coal mine, coal mine.
Coal mine, coal mine, coal mine, coal mine.
Coal mine, coal mine, coal mine, coal mine.
Down in joe browns coal mine.
Yeah, Im goin back to that shack way across that railroad track,
Uh huh, thats where I think I belong.
And thats where Im gonna make my happy home.
Happy home, happy home, happy home, happy home.
Happy home, happy home, happy home, happy home.
Happy home, happy home, happy home, happy home.
Thats where Im gonna make my happy home.
song performed by by Grateful Dead
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lonesome Whistle
Recorded by hank williams, sr.
Words and music by jimmie davis and hank williams, sr.
I was [d] ridin' number nine
Headin' [g] south from caro-[d] line
I heard that lone-[a7] some whistle [d] blow
Got in trouble had to roam
Left my [g] gal and left my [d] home
I heard that lone-[a7] some whistle [d] blow.
1st refrain
Just a [g] kid actin' smart
I went and [d] broke my darlin's heart
I guess i was too young to [a7] know
They took me [d] off the georgia main
Locked me [g] to a ball and [d] chain
I heard that lone-[a7] some whistle [d] blow.
All alone i bear the shame
I'm a number not a name
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
All i do is sit and cry
When the ev'nin' train goes by
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
2nd refrain
I'll be locked here in this cell
Til my body's just a shell
And my hair turns whiter than snow
I'll never see that gal of mine
Lord, i'm in georgia doin' time
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Im So Lonesome I Could Cry
Well, do you hear that lonesome ? ? ? ?
Lord, he sounds too blue to cry
The midnight train lord hes ? ? and ? ?
And Im so lonesome I could cry
Well if you ever hear a robin weep
When the leaves begin to die
Likely hes lost the will to live
And Im so lonesome I could cry
Now the silence of the falling star
It lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder sweetheart where you are
Im so lonesome I could cry
Now the train that I ride is sixteen coaches long
And the girl that I love is gone
And if I could grow wings, I would take off and fly
Im lonesome I could cry
Yes, Im lonesome I could cry
song performed by by Waterboys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Battlefield
(paul carrack/nick lowe)
I live on a battlefield
Surrounding by the ruins of a love we built
And them destroyed between us
The smoke has cleared
As I stumble through the rubble
Im dazed, seeing double
And Im truly mystified
My new home is a shell-hole filled
With tears and muddy water
And bits of broken heart
All around, there is desolation
Scenes of devestation
Of a love been torn apart
I live on a battlefield
Though one where not one
Single drop of blood has spilled
Is no less horryfying
Sweet memories
Of a bygone situation
Lie shattered, torn and battered
And scattered all around
My new home is a shell-hole filled
With tears and muddy water
And bits of broken heart
All around, there is desolation
Scenes of devestation
Of a love been torn apart
Everything that can, has gone wrong
Its gonna take spine to carry on
Like a drownin woman coming up for air
Im looking for another survivor
I cant see one anywhere
My new home is a shell-hole filled
With tears and muddy water
And bits of broken heart
All around, there is desolation
Scenes of devestation
Of a love been torn apart
I live on a battlefield, hey
I live on a battlefield, hey
Cant go on, baby
Tears and muddy water
Scattered all around me, babe
I live on a battlefield
I live on a battlefield
song performed by by Diana Ross
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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See-line Woman
George bass
Yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Alright ye
See-line woman
She drink coffee
She drink tea
And then go home
See-line woman
See-line woman
Dressed in green
Wears silk stockings
With golden seams
See-line woman
See-line woman
Dressed in red
Make a man lose his head
See-line woman
See-line woman
Black dress on
For a thousand dollars
She wail and she moan
See-line woman
Wiggle wiggle
Turn like a cat
Wink at a man
And he wink back
Now child
See-line woman
Empty his pockets
And wreck his days
Make him love her
And shell fly away
See-line woman
Take it on out now
Empty his pockets
And she wreck his days
And she make him love her
Then she sure fly away
She got a black dress on
For a thousand dollars
She wail and she moan...
song performed by by Nina Simone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle
I was ridin' Number Nine,
Headin' south from Caroline.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
Got in trouble, had to roam,
Left my gal an' left my home.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
Just a kid, actin' smart,
I went and broke my darling's heart,
I guess I was too young to know.
They took me off the Georgia Main,
Locked me to a ball and chain.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
All alone I bear the shame,
I'm a number, not a name.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
All I do is set [sic] an' cry
When the evenin' train goes by.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
I'll be locked here in this cell
Till my body's just a shell
An' my hair turns whiter than snow.
I'll never see that gal of mine.
Lord, I'm in Georgia doin' time.
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.
song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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