Downbound Train Songtext
von Jerry Williams

A stranger lying on a barroom floor
Had drank so much he could drink no more
And so he fell asleep where the travel brang
To dream that he rode on the downbound train

The engine with blood was sweaty and black
And brilliantly lit with a brittenstone lamp
And if the fuel was a-shoveling bones
While the furnace rang with a thousand groans
The boiler was filled with lots of beer
The devil himself was the engineer
The passengers were most a motley crew
Some were foreigners and others he knew
Rich men and lords, beggars in rags
Handsome young ladies and wicked old hags


As the train rolled on at a terrible pace
Sulphuric fumes scorched their hands and face
Wider and wider the country grew
Faster and faster the engine flew
Louder and louder the thunder crashed
Brighter and brighter the lightning flashed
Hotter and hotter the air became
Till the coals were burnt with its quivering refrain

Then out of the dim there came a yell
"Ha, ha," said the devil, "We′re nearing home"
"Oh, how," the passengers shrieked with pain
"They're gonna settle on this downbound train"

As the stranger awoke with a language cry
He′m drenched with sweat and his hair standing high
He fell to his knees on the barroom floor
And prayed a prayer like never before
And the prayers and vows were not in vain
For he never rode on the downbound train