ghost train
You can roll off a log nice and easy
And fall under the wheels of life.
Its arms are always wide open
But its hand holds an invisible knife.
No need to put your ear to the track
Or check your watch for the start.
The ghost train isn’t coming, it’s never really been apart.
Your gun is useless and your backup has all backed out of the door.
Your transparent disguises that used to work don’t work at all anymore.
The ghost train does not stop and it sure does not slow.
You got to travel real light cause you can only take what you know.
I can hear that silent whistle banging like a dinner bell.
All our names are on the list so there’s no one left to tell.
Handrails are slick with crude oil and steps are piled high with old shoes.
All your sweat and toil don’t equate with righteous dues.
There is no need to fine-tune the crosshairs of precision.
Who is it exactly that thinks that god doesn’t have x-ray vision?
Each boxcar is the spitting image of a rolling hearse.
That’s only on a good day, most days they look like something ten times worse.
And the conductor won’t take your ticket no matter how many times he asks.
But it doesn’t really matter you see cause everybody’s got a one-way pass.
I can hear that silent whistle banging like a dinner bell.
We’re all real thirsty moving through a long dry spell.
The escape artist jumped aboard into the shock of his insulated life.
He looked so surprised when he realized,
Even he couldn’t dodge the invisible knife.
But that’s OK, it doesn’t matter, it’s not like he failed the final exam.
That’ll come up a little later when we’re close to Hoover dam.
The brakeman’s brakes don’t work, he was hired by his brother-in-law
Who had traded in the brakes for a slightly used devil’s claw.
Truth is the first casualty of the wonder of birth
And likewise the first victor of the miracle of mirth.
So choose your traveling companions carefully and wisely too,
That ghost train’s got you in its crosshairs and it’s going to make love to you.
There’s no use to let on shyly that you’ll be ready in a little while.
And when you pick a seat remember it’s the eyes and not the mouth that should smile.
I can hear that silent whistle banging like a dinner bell.
It’s not too late to ask your neighbor if they're feeling well.