Downbound Train

Lyrics for Downbound Train

A stranger lying on a bar room floor Had drank so much, he could drink no more So he fell asleep with a troubled brain To dream that he rode on that downbound train The engine with blood was sweaty and damp And brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp And imps for fuel were shovelling bones While the furnace rang with a thousand groans The boiler was filled with lager beer The devil himself was the engineer The passengers were most a motley crew Some were foreigners and others he knew Rich men in broadcloth, beggars in rags Handsome young ladies and wicked old hags As the train rushed 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 lighting flashed Hotter and hotter the air became 'Til their clothes were burned with each quivering refrain Then out of the distance there came a yell "Ha ha," said the devil, "We're nearing home" Oh how the passengers shrieked with pain And begged old Satan to stop that train The stranger awoke with an anguished cry His clothes wet with sweat and his hair standing high He fell on 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 that downbound train