Downbound Train Songtext
von Steve James

A stranger layin′ on a barroom floor
Had drank so much that he could drink no more
So he fell asleep with a worried brain
To dream that he rode on a downbound train

The engine went by, it was sweaty and damp
Brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp
An ill-bought funeral was shoveling bones
While the furnace rang with a thousand groans

The boiler was filled with lager beer
The devil himself was the engineer
Passengers were most a motley crew
Some were strangers and others he knew
Rich men in broadcloth, beggars in rags
Handsome young ladies and wicked old hags


The engine rushed on at a terrible pace
Sulfur fumes scorched their hands and face
Wilder and wilder 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 their clothes were burned and each quivered in pain
Then out of the distance there come a yell
"Ha ha!" said the devil when nearing hell
Oh, how the passengers screamed in pain
They begged old Satan to stop that train

The stranger awoke with an anguished cry
His clothes full of sweat and his hair standin' high
He fell to his knees on the barroom floor
And prayed a prayer like never before

And his prayers and vows were not in vain
For he never rode on a downbound train