Down the Line Songtext
von Steve Ashley

It was a Thursday in November, sometime around nine
When he′d left his fire and fender, kissed his wife and left on time
Then all at once he seemed to falter, turn and change his mind
And then his steps he made to alter till he kissed her one more time
It's like he knew his destination but he had no arrival time
When he was lost in concentration, walking down the line
And so he left his home and family like he′d done so many times
Toward the signals and walked the track on the old Great Western Line
He turned his gaze up to an engine ascending into the night
Then another came on him descending but it never had a warning light
He helped to build the fastest railway that the world had ever seen
And he helped to build the strongest union that there had ever been
Two thousand strong was that procession and the coffin that he had
Made an incredible impression underneath that old red flag
There was a real commemoration at the saddest of all times And they were lost in consternation walking down the line
I never met Charlie Downey but I've known him all my days
And he's been kept in high renown for his kind and crazy ways
Those explosions for the children, they come thundering down the years
And his devotion to the labour movement brings an ocean wave of tears
And it rolls across the generations and it finds me in this time
And I′m lost in admiration when I go walking down the line
So here′s my lay for Oscar Charles and all the crews and trackmen too
Who gave their labour and their lives to bring the railway through
And someday further down the line when my journey here is done
I hope there'll be a little time for him to meet his old grandson
It′s like I know my destination but I've got no arrival time
And I hope he′ll be there at the station
When I come walking down the line