The Rail
Long hard days, long cold nights
I work on the rail driving rail road spikes
I work all day from dusk til dawn
We don't take a break til the beans are done
The boss man says, Pick up those spikes
Lay out those rails make them fit just right
Pick up the hammer and drive it in
What I'm paying you boys, I ain't your friend
They pay me boys to tell you what to do
There's another thousand rails to lay, we ain't through
I work all day and I bust my back
I make my money on a rail road track
I work long days and long cold nights
Lay out that rail and lay it right
Pick up a hammer and I drive it in
Then reach for another and do it all again
I'm working on a rail road
Taking care of my own
Carrying my own load
I'm working on a rail road.
poem by Bill Simmons
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Mumbai In August
Mumbai never sleeps
But in rainy it creeps
When August sets in
For days it is resting.
Rain disrupt road, rail, air
Impossible go any where
Water logged on roads
Streets looked more broad.
Commuter’s morning start
Getting ready for the work
They packed tiffins taken
Reach nearest rail station.
Find railway track sunken
From station they return
On announcement listened
Their train is cancelled.
But it’s joy for the children
At doorstep came the ocean
Lot of water to jump and play
To make fun, swim and sway.
poem by S.D. Tiwari
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Further Down The Road
Half a mile outside Biloxi
Did I come or did I go
Seven sirens singin' to me
Why I listen I don't know
I got some smokes I got some coffee
My head is ready to explode
I'll be makin' my way further down the road
I'm not much for conversation
And I don't care for playin' games
I've heard all the hard luck stories
Man they all turn out the same
I'm the last lonely survivor
And I'm still carryin' their load
I'll be makin my way further down the road
I'll be makin' my way
I'm gonna get there some day
I'll be makin' my way
Past the one eyed Jacks layin' rail road tracks in my soul
I'll be makin' my way
I'm gonna get there some day
I'll be makin' my way
Past the one eyed Jacks layin' rail road tacks in my soul
Sometimes I wake up with a fever
Then I just have another beer
I'd like to wake up to a new life
A million miles away from here
But I got demons that need chasin'
And I live by the legend's code
I'll be makin' my way further down the road
I'll be makin' my way further down the road
song performed by by Uncle Kracker
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Beyond highways and roads, we need more money for mass transit, intercity passenger rail and freight rail. We have a long way to go to bridge the funding gaps.
quote by Bill Lipinski
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Steel Rail Blues
Well I got my mail late last night
A letter from a girl who found the time to write
To her lonesome boy somewhere in the night
She sent me a railroad ticket too
To take me to her loving arms
And the big steel rail
Gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well I been out here many a long days
I haven't found a place that I could call my own
Not a two bit bed to lay my body on
I been stood up I been shook down
I bin dragged into the sand
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well I been up tight most every night
Walking along the streets of this old town
Not a friend to tell my troubles to
My good old car she done broke down
'Cause I drove it into the ground
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well look over yonder across the plain
The big drive wheels a-pounding along the ground
Gonna get on board and I'll be homeward bound
Now I ain't had a home cooked meal
And Lord I need one now
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Now here I am with my head in the sand
Standing on the broad highway will you give a ride
To a lonesome boy who missed the train last night
I went in town for one last round
And I gambled my ticket away
And the big steel rail won't carry me home to the one I love
song performed by by Jim Croce
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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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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Steel Rail Blues
Well I got my mail late last night
A letter from a girl who found the time
To write
To her lonesome boy somewheres in the
Night
She sent me a railroad ticket too
To take me to her lovin arms
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Well I bin out here many long days
I havent found a place that I could call
My own
Not a two bit bed to lay my body on
I bin stood up I bin shook down
I bin dragged into the sand
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Ooooh oooo oo whu hu hoo
Ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo oo
Well I bin up tight most every night
Walkin along the streets of this old town
Not a friend around to tell my troubles to
My good old car she done broke down
cause I drove it into the ground
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Well I look over yonder across the plain
The big drive wheels are poundin along
The ground
Gonna get on board and Ill be homeward
Bound
Now I aint had a home cooked meal
And lord I need one now
And the big steel rail gonna carry me
Home to the one I love
Now here I am with my hat in hand
Standin on the broad highway will you
Give a ride
To a lonesome boy who missed the train
Last night
I went in town for one last round
And I gambled my ticket away
And the big steel rail wont carry me
Home to the one I love
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Am Not The Freight Train
I am not the freight train
I am not the rail or the wheel
I am not the conductor or the caboose
I am not the the mail car
Neither the dining car nor the meal
I am not the rail or the spike
I am not the timbers or the pike
I am not the hammer or the strike
Neither the coal nor the fire
Neither the electricity nor the wire
I am hard and cold
I glow red and gold
and rust as I grow old
strong and bold
real
forged
beaten
blued
hard ened
quenched
tempered
annealed
I Am Steel!
but I still feel
James T. Adair 1/19/2010
poem by James T. Adair
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Last Train To The Coast
Why don't we jump the rail
ride the last train to the coast
watch the sea rise and fall
escape if only for a little while
to feel that fresh sea air again
maybe we could stay for a bit
make up a weekend perhaps
lets not make any plans
aside from boarding the last train
steel wheels powering along
to another place, away from here
it sounds so simple, maybe it is
why don't we jump the rail
rise the last train to the coast
make love on the beach
or just sit and talk about love
lets drink by a fire and toast
our future rolling out ahead of us
were on track you and me
why don't we just jump the rail
catch the last train to the coast
poem by Matthew Holloway
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Song Of The Rail
Oh, an ugly thing is an iron rail,
Black, with its face to the dust.
But it carries a message where winged things fail;
It crosses the mountains, and catches the trail,
While the winds and the sea make sport of a sail;
Oh, a rail is a friend to trust.
The iron rail, with its face to the sod,
Is only a bar of ore;
Yet it speeds where never a foot has trod;
And the narrow path where it leads, grows broad;
And it speaks to the world in the voice of God;
That echoes from shore to shore.
Though the iron rail, on the earth down flung,
Seems kin to the loam and the soil,
Wherever its high shrill note is sung,
Out of the jungle fair homes have sprung,
And the voices of babel find one tongue,
In the common language of toil.
Of priest, and warrior, and conquering king,
Of Knights of the Holy Grail,
Of wonders of winter, and glories of spring,
Always and ever the poets sing;
But the great God-Force, in a lowly thing,
I sing, in my song of the rail.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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Hawk Revisited
Told of the hawk on the rail
friends wink.
'A hawk? In the Barrio'?
Not knowing what to think
they glance at each other, first, then at their knees,
stare at the vacant rail, then back at me
as if I'd claimed to see
an elf in Bermudas sipping a Sea-Breeze;
hasten to agree
concluding my mistake, if any, harmless-
the sort of thing that happens every day,
'Goodbye', say, and quickly slip away.
Till I conclude the raptor on the rail
the ruins of a burst balloon
snatched by the wind from some child's bouquet
caught, now, on the rail's disjointed finger;
or, drifting in place
an expirant shred of sooty plastic;
some out-the-window flung
sheer article of lingerie;
a wretched mistake-
an hallucination
a figment of imagination,
indigestion-
anything but the hawk it was.
poem by Morgan Michaels
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The Old Brass Rail
Foot on the rail in the olden days,
For all the world to see,
A jolly old lot, they took their pot
All unashamed and free,
Passing their jest from lip to lip,
Puffing away the foam,
Till a small voice cried from the path outside:
'Ma says, you're to come on home.'
Foot on the rail they faced the world
And cared not who should know;
And many they went, thro' a life mis-spent
As man a man must go
Straight to the dogs from the old brass rail,
Lost and ruined and wrecked:
But he went to his fate with the game played straight:
And he went with his head erect.
Then came the camel, with his lip adroop,
Calling an end to fun.
Tho' his cause was strong, his way was wrong,
And his task was most ill done.
Turning a man to a furtive sneak,
Stealing by ways obscure,
Bad if you will was the old, old ill;
But worse by far was the cure.
Oh, man will sin as his fathers sinned
Since ever this world was made;
But, if he must sin, then let him sin
In the open, unafraid;
Foot on the old brass rail again
For all the world to see.
A jolly old lot who takes his tot
All unashamed and free.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
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Long Black Road
They used to tell me boy you aint goin nowhere
With your cheap guitar and your big long hair
You gotta realize all your responsibilities
You gotta get out to work and face reality
You gotta get up in the morning take your heavy load
And you gotta keep goin down the long black road
So I drifted for a while down the road to ruin
I couldnt find my way I didnt know what I was doin
I saw a lot of people coming back the other way
So I kept on goin when I heard them say
You gotta get up in the morning take your heavy load
And you gotta keep goin down the long black road
I made a lot of money I was makin quite a mess
But they all told me money wouldnt bring me happiness
You gotta work like a man in a real mans life
Youre gonna have to take all the trouble and strife
You gotta get up in the morning take your heavy load
And you gotta keep goin down the long black road
song performed by by Electric Light Orchestra
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Telegraph Road
A long time ago came a man on a track
Walking thirty miles with a pack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
Made a home in the wilderness
He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came riding down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back
Then came the churches then came the schools
Then came the lawyers then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their loads
And the dirty old track was the telegraph road
Then came the mines - then came the ore
Then there was the hard times then there was a war
Telegraph sang a song about the world outside
Telegraph road got so deep and so wide
Like a rolling river. . .
And my radio says tonight its gonna freeze
People driving home from the factories
Theres six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow. . .
I used to like to go to work but they shut it down
I got a right to go to work but theres no work here to be found
Yes and they say were gonna have to pay whats owed
Were gonna have to reap from some seed thats been sowed
And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold
You can hear them singing out their telegraph code
All the way down the telegraph road
You know Id sooner forget but I remember those nights
When life was just a bet on a race between the lights
You had your head on my shoulder you had your hand in my hair
Now you act a little colder like you dont seem to care
But believe in me baby and Ill take you away
From out of this darkness and into the day
From these rivers of headlights these rivers of rain
From the anger that lives on the streets with these names
cos Ive run every red light on memory lane
Ive seen desperation explode into flames
And I dont want to see it again. . .
>from all of these signs saying sorry but were closed
All the way down the telegraph road
song performed by by Dire Straits
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Camptown Races
De Camptown ladies sing dis song -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
De Camptown racetrack five miles long -- Oh! doo-dah day!
I come down dah wid my hat caved in -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
I go back home wid a pocket full of tin -- Oh! doo-dah day!
Chorus
Gwine to run all night! Gwine to run all day!
I'll bet my money on de bob-tail nag -- Somebody bet on de bay!
De long tail filly and de big black hoss -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Dey fly de track and dey both cut across -- Oh! doo-dah day!
De blind hoss sticken in a big mud hole -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Can't touch bottom wid a ten foot pole -- Oh! doo-dah day!
Chorus
Old muley cow come on to de track -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
De bob-tail fling her ober his back -- Oh! doo-dah day!
Den fly along like a rail-road car -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Runnin' a race with a shootin' star -- Oh! doo-dah day!
Chorus
Seen dem flyin' on a ten mile heat -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Round de race track, den repeat -- Oh! doo-dah day!
I win my money on de bob-tail nag -- Doo-dah! doo-dah!
I keep my money in an old tow-bag -- Oh! doo-dah day!
Chorus
poem by Stephen C. Foster
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Long Hard Road
Way back in my memory there's a scene that i recall
Of a little run-down cabin in the woods
Where my dad never promised that our blue moon would turn gold
But he laid awake nights wishin' that it would.
When the world was on our radio, hard work was on our minds.
We lived our day-to-day in plain dirt fashion,
With ol' overalls and cotton balls all strapped across your back
Man, it's hard to make believe there ain't nothing wrong.
But momma kept the bible read and daddy kept our family fed,
And somewhere in between i must have grown
Cause someday i was dreamin' that a song that i was singin'
Takes me down the road to where i want to go.
Now i know, it's a long hard road
Sometimes i remember when i stay up late at night,
When the sun-up came, we got up and went
In the shadows of a working' day, our moonlight hours spent
Singin' songs along with gramma's radio.
Now i'm beatin' down a ol' blacktop road, sleepin' in a sack,
Livin' in my memories all in vain
'cause those city lights ain't all that bright, compared to what its like
To see lightning bugs go dancin' in the rain.
Momma played the guitar then, and daddy made the saw blade bend,
And raindrops played the tin roof like a drum.
But i just kept on dreamin' that a song that i was singin'
Takes me down the road to where my name is known.
Now i'm gone, and its a long hard road
Yes, i know, its a long hard road.
song performed by by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You and I come by road or rail, but economists travel on infrastructure.
quote by Margaret Thatcher
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Coming From The Heart
by Bob Dylan and Helena Springs
We have got to come together
How long can we stay apart?
You may get it maybe never
But it's coming from the heart.
Your life is full of indecision
You can't make up your mind.
We must get it in position
And move it on down the line.
'Cause the road is long, it's a long hard climb
I been on that road too long of a time
Yes the road is long, and it winds and winds
When I think of the love that I left behind.
Make me up a bed of roses
And hang them down from the vine
Of all my loves you've been the closest
That's ever been on my mind.
Please don't talk about tomorrow
I'm really not one to care
This world is filled with too much sorrow
That nobody's heart should bear.
'Cause the road is long, it's a long hard climb
I been on that road too long of a time
Yes the road is long, and it winds and winds
When I think of the love that I left behind.
Please, please give me indication
Stop and talk to me
Like a river that is flowing
My love will never cease to be.
You will always be my honey
No one could take your part
Our love can't be bought with money
'Cause it's coming from the heart.
'Cause the road is long, it's a long hard climb
I been on that road too long of a time
Yes the road is long, and it winds and winds
When I think of the love that I left behind.
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Wherever You Are
The roads I take maybe long ones
to get to wherever you are.
The days will be filled with yearning
and the nights filled with a cold chill of the lonely,
but my heart will remain loyal
until your back in my arms again.
The road that took us away
will return us one day
to the place wherever you are.
If sadness may come upon me
along the road a while I will stay
then tomorrow I again will be on my way,
back on the road to find you
wherever you are.
Facing more days without you
and nights in the cold chill of the lonely
until the day I can hold you
back in my arms again.
3 November 2009
poem by David Harris
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Rollin' And Ramblin' (The Death Of Hank Williams)
Folks in Nashville slammed the door
Said we don't want you anymore
Find your own way down the road
Pack your fiddle and your guitar
Take a train or take a car
Find someone else to keep you from the cold
Rollin' and ramblin'
Women loved him half to death
He sang with whiskey on his breath
His heart broke like a child's
Rollin' and ramblin'
The sun has set out on the trail
The hobo's drifted up the rail
He's taken his last ride
Oh, he always sang the blues
Like it was all he ever knew
He didn't sing at all that night
He was pale and as he dozed
He didn't know his time had closed
Slumped in the back seat to the right
Rollin' and ramblin'
Women loved him half to death
He sang with whiskey on his breath
His heart broke like a child's
Rollin' and ramblin'
The sun has set out on the trail
The hobo's drifted up the rail
He's taken his last ride
So they send him on night train South
Through the cities and the rural routes
Just one more place to go
Ah, the whistle sang the bluest note
Like it came from his own throat
Moanin' sad and cryin' low
Rollin' and ramblin'
Women loved him half to death
He sang with whiskey on his breath
His heart broke like a child's
Rollin' and ramblin'
The sun has set out on the trail
The hobo's drifted up the rail
He's taken his last ride
Rollin' and ramblin'
The sun has set out on the trail
The hobo's drifted up the rail
He's taken his last ride
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Theresienstadt
If you search there
With today's high-tech tools
You will find the effects there
In ovens there that were his final stop
Somewhere there
Is enough of a sample
To test with modern equipment
For proof he with others ended there
From a sample of dust in pile there
Maybe still buried in a trench
Maybe blown away by now
Since 1943 is a long time
Long enough to forget George Pick ended there
The man who in 1912 caused Eiestein
To consider absolute differential calculus
Which got General Relativity unstuck
Eienstein - a Jew was welcomed
In England Germany America
George Pick - a Jew too
Got stuffed into a freight rail car to Theresienstadt
We've left him there
We allowed the cause that took him there
We should never forget the effect
We should never forget George Pick
poem by Tom J. Mariani
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