The Railyard

Oh my sweet little darling dear
When these words reach your ears I’ll be long gone from here
All alone in a railyard, the shrill whistle blows
Oh where I’m a-going really god only knows

I’ll call her Eliza, the girl with no name
All wrapped up in silence, in secrets, in pain
In north country winter, both tied to the road
Smiled and said nothing, I bared her my soul

And I know that I loved her, but I couldn’t say why
And all of that silence might well have been lies
She cried out “I love you, but I’ll never be free.
There ‘aint no use guessing, just forget about me.”

It’s lonesome out here on the road
Where the last points of fire that light the night sky
Burn down to their embers and flicker and die
My fingers go numb in the cold
Where the last little spark that’s disrupting the dark
Is that last bit of feeling that’s left in my heart

My footsteps were haunted for many long weeks
I couldn’t find shelter in those dull dusty streets
So I found me a railcar with no windows, no doors
Poured out all my love on the cold rusty floor

And in the gray morning I was long gone, away
In a far eastern country where the language is strange
Where the seabirds they circle no ocean nearby
Like lost souls they’re crying, lamenting their plight

The sun rises and sets in the same goddamn place
Shadows circle my body and laugh in my face
Though I set out to find me a whole brand new life
I don’t want to forget her, I don’t want to die