Downbound Train

The Downbound Train - Chuck Berry 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 down bound 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 pa*sengers 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 Till their clothes were burned and they were screaming with pain. Then out of the distance there came a yell Ha ha said the devil we're nearing home, Oh how the pa*sengers 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 bar room floor And prayed a prayer like never before. And the prayers and vows were not in vain For he never rode that down bound train.