This is a true story about a trip from Bryan, Texas to someplace south of Houston... Let it be clear that the names have been changed and I was not in fact one of the participants... The poor English is pretty accurate to the actual travelers. Also there's some drug use which I am in no way endorsing so Nick please don't delete this.
"The Train Ride"
Well boys there I was
With Billy Taylor by the railroad
Already tired-a walkin'
Or maybe drunk man I don't know
But that train came rollin' by us
And rollin' just a little slow
And we both knew those tracks were headed
About a block from where we's goin'
And we ain't never tried it
But turns out it ain't that hard
To just grab ahold-a somethin'
And pull yourself aboard
And we sat there sorta grinnin'
And rolled a joint in that boxcar
And smoked it slow and easy
Thinkin' we were so d**n smart
Well pretty soon we noticed
We were almost at our stop
But nobody told our driver
And so he kept speedin' up
And I looked at Billy Taylor
And our hearts just kinda sunk
Cause if we wanted off this train
Well man we were outta luck
Don't you drink
And don't you smoke
And don't you ever ride the rails
True story boys
I ain't messin you around
Cause like me and Billy Taylor
You might live to tell the tale
But trust me you wont ever live it down
We were laughin' we were cursin'
Mostly didn't know what to do
Billy's phone it wasn't workin'
And mine was outta juice
But we had some beers left in my bag
And enough weed to see us through
To wherever we were goin'
We just hoped we'd get there soon
Then after what seemed like forever
We finally felt it slowin' down
And we hopped off of that train
And set our feet on solid ground
About a hundred-fifty miles
From where we had started out
Then we both looked at each other
Like "What the h**l do we do now?"
Don't you drink
And don't you smoke
And don't you ever ride the rails
True story boys
I ain't messin you around
Cause like me and Billy Taylor
You might live to tell the tale
But trust me you wont ever live it down
-Marv
Andrew Delaney & The Horse You Rode In On ---> http://www.myspace.com/andrewdelaney
You can and should buy my album "Scoundrels!" in mp3 format on amazon.com or iTunes etc...
Good go on the lyrics :D I can picture a train beat to back it up. I am not sure how authentic you want to keep the story, but it could also read or have another version about two young boys (7-9 years old) taking a dare to far and hopping on the train...It wouldn't have to involve the drinking or drugs....you could up the dares to the climax of the train ride....ring a door bell (ding-dong-ditch), kiss a toad, eat a worm, tip a cow....etc.... and build up the challenge of the train jump.
...just a suggestion....it reads fine as is as well.
Thanks for sharing.
Nice one! Put some country music behind it and I'll bet you've got something good.
I do have one suggestion: How about changing "It'll get you lost, boys" to "True story, boys"?
You'd have a stronger connection between the drugs getting their lives "off the tracks" and the tracks literally getting them lost.
Good Job Marv
I hearing this with a Johnny Cash type treatment with
the verses spoken and the chorus sung.
:note1: :note1: :note1:
John
......so Nick please don't delete this.
Whilst Nick has the final say on most matters, I hope he trusts my judgement as SSG moderator....and my ruling would be, "well - the drug use is fairly essential to the story line, so I'll let it pass." Like you said, Marv, you're not advocating it as a good thing - you're reporting on actual events.
Same with the "bad English dialogue..." again, it's reported speech, and rings all the more true for NOT being grammatically accurate. That's how REAL people actually talk, so kudos to you for telling it like it is. You must have noticed how Steven King writes dialogue between his characters? Yep, that's how REAL people actually talk, and that's what makes his stories ring true.
Works well for me - all I'm curious about is, how DID they get home? Or is that part II or even another song?
I'm with Celt here, a Johnny Cash-style treatment might work well with this one.
All the best when you come to record, looking forward to the MP3.
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Hey Celt.. you hit then anil on the head with how I was planning on doing this one... I've been crazy busy the past couple of weeks so I was surprised I got to write at all but this one came quickly... I just didn't have time to record it. I'll try to get to that at some point.
Vic... they had a friend in Houston that came and got them and took them back... Nice fella.
-marv
Andrew Delaney & The Horse You Rode In On ---> http://www.myspace.com/andrewdelaney
You can and should buy my album "Scoundrels!" in mp3 format on amazon.com or iTunes etc...
