I saw the sky fill up with engine

Heard the world fill up with noise

Laid a penny on the track, got a flapjack back

As the driver waved to the boys

I watched the people at the window

From the bushes as the diner flew by

Now I look from the window of the diner

For a kid with hungry eyes



This is a train song

It's a song about gettin' lost

It's a song about what that cost

This is a train song

For birds that are stuck on the ground

For ears that only listen

For distant sounds



Just me and the stars on a flatcar

As the train pulled into Schrieber town

Cop saw me jump and I was runnin'

I was scared he's gonna run me down

Now I see the porter smilin' to my left hand

As he's lookin' at the money

That I'm holdin' in my right

And I think how it's nice he wants to know my name

And I laugh out the window at the night



This is a train song

It's a song about gettin' lost

It's a song about what that cost

This is a train song

For birds that are stuck on the ground

For ears that only listen

For distant sounds



Hear the mourning of the midnight whistle

Hear the ringin' of the railroad sign

On the double street high line

They say every railroad line has a bad side

Where they make all the poor people stay

Though some of the bad ones

Might make it across

That train passes by anyway



This is a train song

It's a song about gettin' lost

It's a song about what that cost

This is a train song

For birds that are stuck on the ground

For ears that only listen

For distant sounds