The Poison Train

A Song by Michael O'Rourke

This old town has had its day, all the people moved away,
And the houses standing empty in the dry and dusty day.
No-one cares for this old town, now the money's not around
And the railway lines are rusty and the station's falling down.

Chorus:
There's a light down the line.
Let it shine, shine, let it shine.
There's a camp down the way.
All the fettlers will be coming home today.

When the railway opened here, all the gutters flowed with beer
And the people stood beside the line to watch and wave and cheer.
All the speeches that were made, when the bosses smiled and said
The good times are just beginning, follow us and you'll go ahead.

Well they built the street so wide, it would be a thing of pride
To walk across it drunk or throw a stone to the other side.
And the building grew so tall, you would tremble at their fall,
But they just dried out and you'd never know there was any one there at all.

I can hear the tall man say to the children at their play
You'd better go home early and you'd better stay away.
Stay away from the line, can't you hear the railway humming,
The grass has grown too tall and the poison train is coming.

You feel sorry for the grass, all it did was grow too fast
All the weapons raised against it, it was never made to last
And the man and his offsider are all dressed in black
As the poison train goes through the town and blisters all the track.

Well it never lasted long, half the town was packed and gone,
And everybody was afraid to be left there alone.
All the people stayed away, and there was no celebration,
And nobody made a speech the day they closed down the railway.

Score to be added