Railroad Song
Written by - Jim Croce & Ingrid Croce
When I was a boy in the days of the train
I'd sit by the tracks on a long summer day
And I'd wave at the brakesman
And he'd wave back at me
While the thunderclouds rolled
Out of East Tennessee
But the dreams of a boy disappear when you're grown
And though I may dream, the railroads are gone
The ties they are rotten
And the tracks shot to hell
Along with my dreams and the old railroad bell
In my dreams I ride the rails to California
Workin' diners and farms along the way
Or I'd hop a ride to hide across the border
With a black eyed girl beside me all the way
Now the mountains are silent
And the railroads are gone
And the coal towns no longer hear the miners at dawn
But the train whistle shrills out her memories to me
While the thunderclouds roll out of East Tennessee
In my dreams I ride the rails to California
Workin' diners and farms along the way
Or I'd hop a ride to hide across the border
With a black eyed girl beside me all the way
Now the mountains are silent
And the railroads are gone
And the coal towns no longer hear the miners at dawn
But the train whistle shrills out her memories to me
While the thunderclouds roll out of East Tennessee
song performed by by Jim Croce
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Border Train
Got nobody left to listen to
Got no promises to keep
Something's gotta be out there
Fine a world for me out there
No more livin' half asleep
There's an island in the misty night
Little platform by the track
I dreamed I saw a light for me
A face, a place so right for me
That I'd never think of lookin' back
Through the shadowland
Like a siver band
Got no kind of plan
I ride the border train
Somewhere new to be
Light the way for me
Moon and memories
I ride the border train
City jumps up like a circus
Neon flutters out of sight
The town itself is traveling
America unraveling
And swallowed in the hungry night
Through the shadowland
Like a siver band
Got no kind of plan
I ride the border train
Somewhere new to be
Light the way for me
Moon and memories
I ride the border train
There'll come a time
With no goodbyes
When I'll simply grab
That border train
And at journey's end
They will all be real
My lovers and friends
And I swear to God
There's time for me
And I'll live the life I waited for!
Wooo oooo ooo oooo
Wooo oooo ooo oooo
Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm
I ride the border train
Somewhere new to be
Please light the way for me
Moon and memories
I ride the border train
song performed by by Barry Manilow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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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
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Railroad
Up each morning at five oclock,
Seem like the noon-day sun aint never gonna stop.
The work is hard in a railroad yard,
Hey, hey, gotta make it today to punch a time card.
Workin on the railroad.
Chorus
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
Dirt and sweat, runnin down my back,
Workin on the railroad.
Work all day long up and down the railroad tracks.
Workin on the railroad.
Im a God fearing man, and with many I stand,
Workin on the railroad.
And with God weve been working, all hand in hand.
Workin on the railroad.
Chorus
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Workin on the railroad.
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
Workin on the railroad.
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
song performed by by Grand Funk Railroad
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pink tracks leading East
Beckon the early morning train
Rattling dawn-wards
Soon I shall ride those rails again
Until the wheels turn the pink to gold
tanka by Res John Burman (20 April 2010)
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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(Waiting For) The Ghost Train
A straw headed woman, and a barrel chested man,
A pocket full of posies with a hat brim full of sand,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
A dog chasing the tumbleweeds, across the sandy floor,
That drift along the platform, through the ticket office door,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
But don't tell me there's nothing coming, you don't fool me,
I hear the ghost train rumbling along the tracks - set them free,
And I hear them,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
The station master's writing with a piece of orange chalk,
A hundred cancellations, still no one wants to walk,
Keep the hungry children from the skeletons in the back,
Paid to keep an eye out for the gipsy caravan,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
I hear the ghost train rumbling along the tracks - set them free,
And I hear them,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white (don't try),
It's black and white (don't try),
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
And I hear them,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide
song performed by by Madness
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Ghost Train
A straw headed woman, and a barrel chested man,
A pocket full of posies with a hat brim full of sand,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
A dog chasing the tumbleweeds, across the sandy floor,
That drift along the platform, through the ticket office door,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
But don't tell me there's nothing coming, you don't fool me,
I hear the ghost train rumbling along the tracks - set them free,
And i hear them,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
The station master's writing with a piece of orange chalk,
A hundred cancellations, still no one wants to walk,
Keep the hungry children from the skeletons in the back,
Paid to keep an eye out for the gipsy caravan,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
Ooh - waiting for the train that never comes,
I hear the ghost train rumbling along the tracks - set them free,
And i hear them,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white (don't try),
It's black and white (don't try),
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
And i hear them,
It's black and white don't try to hide,
It's black and white don't try to hide...
song performed by by Madness
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Daddy, Whats A Train?
This song was first released on the all aboard! album. it is the only album it has been released on.
Daddy, whats a train? is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? well how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me daddy, whats a train?
When I was just a boy and living by the track
Us kids would gather up the coal in big ole gunnysacks
Then we heard the warning sound as the train pulled into view
The engineer would smile and wave as she went rolling through
She blew so loud and clear, we had to cover up our ears
And we counted cars just as high as we could go
I can almost hear the steam those big old drivers scream
A sound my little kids will never know
Daddy, whats a train? is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? well how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me daddy, whats a train?
I guess the times have changed, kids are different now
cause some dont even seem to know that milk comes from a cow
My little boy can tell the names of all the baseball stars
I remember how we memorized the names on railroad cars
The wabash and the tp, lackawanna, the ic
The nichel-plate and the good old santa fe
Just names out of the past, I guess theyre fading fast
Every time I hear my little boy say
Daddy, whats a train? is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? well how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me daddy, whats a train?
We climbed into the car, drove down into town
Right up to the depot house, but no one was around
We searched the yard together for something I could show
But I knew there hadnt been a train for a dozen years or so
All the things I did when I was just a kid
How far away those memories appear
I guess its plain to see they still mean a lot to me
cause my ambition was to be an engineer
Daddy, whats a train? is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? well how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me daddy, whats a train?
Words and music by bruce u. utah phillips
song performed by by John Denver
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dixie Flyer
(Susan Longacre/Jim Photoglo/Russell Smith)
Well the first thing I remember is the smell of burnin' cinders
And the sound of that old whistle on the wind
I always wondered where the train was going
But I never cared at all where it had been
Yeah the first chance I got, I was gone like a shot
Following that old dream of mine
My only desire was to catch that flyer
And ride it to the end of the line
My life is like a Dixie Flyer
She don't ever look back
So pour on the coal
Let the good times roll
Till the train runs out of track
Full speed ahead no I ain't stoppin' yet
I feel that drivin' wheel down in my soul
I been some places where the train don't stop
Some places where the train don't even go
Yeah some are satisfied just to sit on the side
And watch as the trains roll by
That ain't me, there's too much to see
Gonna roll until the day that I die
My life is like a Dixie Flyer
She don't ever look back
So pour on the coal
Let the good times roll
Till the train runs out of track
Till the train runs out of track
Till the train runs out of track
song performed by by Travis Tritt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All Night Train
Transcribed by ed luskey
Last night sorta got so insane,
As I went ridin on the all night train.
Took it down the street and around the block,
Took it downtown baby where the big boys rock.
Roll on, roll on,
Take me where I can ease my pain.
Preacher say boy now where you been?
Getting lead in my pockets,
Putting money in sin.
When the mornin comes not a nickel to my name,
Threw it all away on the all night train.
Ride, let the passenger ride.
Ride, let the passenger ride.
I woke up late yesterday afternoon,
My eyeballs feeling like two balloons.
The doctor say things aint never gonna change,
Till you stop riding that all night train.
Ride, let the passenger ride.
Ride, let the passenger ride.
Took a little trip to keep from going insane,
Spent the rest of my life on the all night train.
All night train.
All night train.
All night train.
song performed by by Allman Brothers Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tennessee Border
Recorded by hank williams, sr.
Words and music by jimmy work
Her [g] eyes were blue, her hair was [d7] auburn
Her smile was like an angel [g] fair
She was her daddys only [d7] daughter
On the tennessee [g] border [g7]
Chorus
One [c] night I took a ride just across the [g] line
I [a7] picked her up in a pickup truck
And she [d] broke this heart of [d7] mine
Her [g] mama said: no-o, [d7] shes my only daughter,
But we got married on the tennessee [g] border.
The roses were bloomin [d7] there on the border
The moon was shinin [g] there
Her personality made me [d7] want her
On the tennessee [g] border.
Chorus
song performed by by Hank Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ride The Train
Words and music by teddy gentry
Orange blossom special, the wabash cannonball, the chattanooga choochoo, this hobos seen em all.
Ive watched the sante fe lay her smoke against the sky and listen to old
Number three rollin through the night.
Chorus:
Ride the train. ride the train.
Anywhere Im going I ride trains.
Sleepin in a boxcar when it rains.
Ride the train, ride the train.
Southern pacific, the overland express and up ahead the coal cars of west
Virginias best.
And oklahomas frisco, the biggest one of all.
Ive listened to the silver steeds lonesome midnight call.
Chorus
Ride the train. trains.
song performed by by Alabama
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Land Of Hope & Dreams
Grab your ticket and your suitcase
Thunders rolling down the tracks
Dont know where youre goin
Sky is turnin black
Well darlin if youre weary
Lay your head upon my chest
Well take what we can carry
And well leave behind the rest
Big wheels rolling through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams
Well I will provide for you
Ya and I will stand by your side
Youll need a good companion darlin
For this part of the ride
Ya leave behind your sorrows
Ya this day at last
Tomorrow theyll be sunny skies
And all this darkness past
Big wheels rolling through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams
This train
Carries saints and sinners
This train
Carries losers and winners
This train
Carries whores and gamblers
This train
Carries midnight ramblers
This train
Carries broken hearted
This train
Carries souls departed
This train
Dreams will not be thwarted
This train
Faith will be rewarded
This train
Carries fools and kings
This train
Hear the big wheels singing
This train
Bells of freedom ringing
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tennessee Jed
Cold iron shackles, ball and chain,
Listen to the whistle of the evenin train.
You know you bound to wind up dead,
If you dont head back to tennessee jed.
Rich man step on my poor head,
When you get back you better butter my bread.
Well, do you know its like I said,
You better head back to tennessee jed.
Tennessee, tennessee, there aint no place Id rather be,
Baby wont you carry me back to tennessee.
Drink all day and rock all night,
The law come to get you if you dont walk right
Got a letter this morning, baby all it read,
You better head back to tennessee jed.
I dropped four flights and cracked my spine,
Honey, come quick with the iodine,
Catch a few winks, baby, under the bed
Then you head back to tennessee jed.
Tennessee, tennessee, there aint no place Id rather be,
Baby wont you carry me back to tennessee.
I run into charlie fog,
Blacked my eye and he kicked my dog,
My doggie turned to me and he said,
Lets head back to tennessee jed.
I woke up a feelin mean,
Went down to play the slot machine,
The wheels turned around, and the letters read,
You better head back to tennessee jed.
Tennessee, tennessee, there aint no place Id rather be,
Baby wont you carry me back to tennessee.
song performed by by Grateful Dead
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Take The A Train
Come on down, lets take the a train
To take a little ride around the city.
Brooklyn or broadway train
Youll see that old new york is kind of pretty.
Take your baby subway ridin
Thats where romance may be hidin (lets take a ride)
Take, you should take the a train
To get to sugar hill way up in harlem.
Come on baby, climb aboard the a train
Thats the way to get to sugar hill in harlem
And if you get aboard the a train
Youll get to sugar hill and in a hurry.
Listen here, listen to the train a comin
Hear the rails a hummin (lets take a ride)
Climb aboard, climb aboard the a train
To take a little ride around the city.
(all aboard...)
song performed by by Chicago
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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Train Long Gone
(Gone!) Well, I hate how that word
Rattles all around in this room
(Alone,) with a memory so strong
I could sweep it up with a broom.
(Tears,) if I shed anymore I'm afraid
They might wear out my face
(Clear,) Yes, It's clear to me now
That her love can never be replaced.
Love may be gone but never forgotten
The memory won't leave you alone
And the train may be long gone from the station
But you still hear the whistle moan.
Still hear the whistle moan.
--- Instrumental ---
(Time,) time got so slow and thick
That the clock hardly ticks anymore
(Crime,) it's a crime how I sit here
And stare like a dog at the door.
(Blame,) Aw yes, I'll take the blame
I admit I did not treat her right
(Shame,) It's a shame laying here
All alone on this cold, windy night.
Love may be gone but never forgotten
The memory won't leave you alone
And the train may be long gone from the station
But you still hear the whistle moan.
Still hear the whistle moan.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train gone, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train gone, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train gone, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh.
Love may be gone but never forgotten
The memory won't leave you alone
And the train may be long gone from the station
But you can still hear the whistle moan.
Still hear the whistle moan.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train gone, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train gone, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train, long gone train.
Ohh, Ohh, Ohh, Ohh
Train, long gone train...
song performed by by Randy Travis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Roll Baby Roll
Swinging in the jungle
Never stop the turntable madness
Ready to blast, yeah
If you wanna get the vibe
Just come and take a taste
'Cause time is going quick
And there's no time to waste
Fallin' deeper, into your hole
Just go ahead and roll
I say hi, you say hello
I say yes, you say no
I say whistle, you just blow
So roll baby roll
I say hi, you say hello
I say yes, you say no
I say whistle, you just blow
So roll baby roll, yeah
Hands in the air!!!
Yes!
We have a break and a smile
Inside the venue
This ones dedicated to the junglist crew
Feel the bass drop vibrating your spirit
If you see a speaker come here 'n get near it
Ride again, ride again
Roll again, roll again, yeah
Bass the jungle dance
And bounce baby bounce, yeah
U and me, me and U
Ride again, ride again
Bass the jungle dance
And bounce baby bounce, yeah
Let me hear ya!!
I say hi, you say hello
I say yes, you say no
I say whistle, you just blow
So roll baby roll
I say hi, you say hello
I say yes, you say no
I say whistle, you just blow
So roll baby roll, yeah
C'mon! One more time yeah!
YYYAAAAHHH!!!
Alright crew!!
song performed by by Scooter
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Through the Metidja to Abd-El-Kadr
I
As I ride, as I ride,
With a full heart for my guide,
So its tide rocks my side,
As I ride, as I ride,
That, as I were double-eyed,
He, in whom our Tribes confide,
Is descried, ways untried
As I ride, as I ride.
II.
As I ride, as I ride
To our Chief and his Allied,
Who dares chide my heart's pride
As I ride, as I ride?
Or are witnesses denied—
Through the desert waste and wide
Do I glide unespied
As I ride, as I ride?
III.
As I ride, as I ride,
When an inner voice has cried,
The sands slide, nor abide
(As I ride, as I ride)
O'er each visioned homicide
That came vaunting (has he lied?)
To reside—where he died,
As I ride, as I ride.
IV.
As I ride, as I ride,
Ne'er has spur my swift horse plied,
Yet his hide, streaked and pied,
As I ride, as I ride,
Shows where sweat has sprung and dried,
—Zebra-footed, ostrich-thighed—
How has vied stride with stride
As I ride, as I ride!
V.
As I ride, as I ride,
Could I loose what Fate has tied,
Ere I pried, she should hide
(As I ride, as I ride)
All that's meant me—satisfied
When the Prophet and the Bride
Stop veins I'd have subside
As I ride, as I ride!
poem by Robert Browning from Cavalier Tunes (1842)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Rambling, Gambling Willie
Come around you rovin gamblers and a story I will tell
About the greatest gambler, you all should know him well.
His name was will o conley and he gambled all his life,
He had twenty-seven children, yet he never had a wife.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
He gambled in the white house and in the railroad yards,
Wherever there was people, there was willie and his cards.
He had a reputation as the gamblinest man around,
Wives would keep their husbands home when willie came to town.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
Sailin down the mississippi to a town called new orleans,
Theyre still talkin about their card game on that jackson river queen.
Ive come to win some money, gamblin willie says,
When the game finally ended up, the whole damn boat was his.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
Up in the rocky mountains in a town called cripple creek,
There was an all-night poker game, lasted about a week.
Nine hundred miners had laid their money down,
When willie finally left the room, he owned the whole damn town.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
But willie had a heart of gold and this I know is true,
He supported all his children, and all their mothers too.
He wore no rings or fancy things, like other gamblers wore,
He spread his money far and wide, to help the sick and the poor.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
When you played your cards with willie, you never really knew
Whether he was bluffin or whether he was true.
He won a fortune from a man who folded in his chair.
The man, he left a diamond flush, willie didnt even have a pair.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
It was late one evenin during a poker game,
A man lost all his money, he said willie was to blame.
He shot poor willie through the head, which was a tragic fate,
When willies cards fell on the floor, they were aces backed with eights.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
So all you rovin gamblers, wherever you might be,
The moral of this story is very plain to see.
Make your money while you can, before you have to stop,
For when you pull that dead mans hand, your gamblin days are up.
And its ride, willie, ride,
Roll, willie, roll,
Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows.
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Night Train To Lorca
Across the dark and dusty plain
Where scars of old dry rivers run
Night unfolds, a coal black shroud
Across the hard and stony ground
Distant stars shining bright
In the cavern of the night
All is still and silence screams
To the thunder of the lorca train
Flaming steal swift as wind
Wires hum the rails ring
Smokestack burning fiery sparks
Rise up to the stars
Towns asleep by empty roads
Churches rise from crooked roofs
Cloaked in darkness nothing stirs
Grow smaller darker disappear
See the moon so still and cold
A million stars that shed no warmth
Your nightmares all come out to play
In the silver light
Wait for sunrise in the east
Long shadows crawl across the plain
The ghosts of night will disappear
And lay your fears to rest
Steam hissed up, the hot coals glowed
The furnace blazed, the wheels they rolled
On tracks of iron, straight and cold
The silver moonlight danced
The flames are in the firemans eye
Orange in the engines glow
Gleaming pistons whirling cranks
Wait for dawn the roosters crow
song performed by by Pogues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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