Devil's Train

My grand-pops was a man of respect, had to sweat
Just to cash checks working from sunrise to set
Every day he'd get challenged, no trades or talents
Barely scraped by, he found faith to balance
The straight line and pace, feeling worn and gray
Poor with four seeds, one more on the way

It was hard days indeed, all work and no play
He made sure things on the surface were okay, but
Something disturbin' within his mind was lurkin'
A slight twilight breeze would ease in through the curtains at night
It's like the sermon of a twisted apparition

Was urging him to listen to the train in the distance
At first it wasn't intense, just one little instance
Sure it didn't occur, he turned to resist it
As if it wasn't much more than just a figment
Of his imagination, but for days it was persistent

And it went
Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me
Then it got louder
Follow me, follow me
I have something to show you

With time people noticed he was actin' berserk
Granny got a call saying he was absent from work
And that was a first
She ran to the pastor at church
To ask him what was up with this disastrous curse
But bad went to worse

He came back three days after
No money in his wallet and his shirt on backwards
Stumbling, walked awkward, he called out for his daughter
Right before he split the last lesson he taught her was this
If you ever have a son, let him know
That his granddad loves him, but by the time that he's grown

Be sure this seed is sown deep down into his dome
Don't ever, ever walk to the train tracks alone
With that, he backed up, reached out for his jacket
Told her not to act up and cracked up laughin'
After all that happened, he left, never to be seen

Fifteen years later is when my mother had me
Her dad lived a life people can't understand
Went from a family man to rambling man
A gambling man that burned both ends of the candle
Folded his hand in, it was too hot to handle

Sitting on the tracks waiting for the night train
Looking down the road, ain't never gonna go back
Listen for the whistle through the wind and raindrop
Who's gonna ride the devil's train tonight?
Sitting on the tracks waiting for the night train
Looking down the road, ain't never gonna go back
Listen for the whistle through the wind and raindrop
Who's gonna ride the devil's train tonight?

When I was a tot, my mom dropped fables and stories
To warn me of the dangers that were layin' before me
To keep it interestin' she would hide the lesson
To guide my direction, provide the right message
In time I developed a sense of her embellishment
Since I was rebellious against what she was tellin' me

When I was a teen I pretended that my demons were friends
I defended the place, yo, and that was the case
Slurred speech drippin' off of my face
The world creeped as I slipped to the awfulest place you could imagine
Not the average things you see on acid
My granddad bloody, hovering on a speaker cabinet
Laughing in a raspy tone, covered in maggots

That snacked on his mass to the bone, I couldn't grasp it
Did a double dismount off of the couch, flipped out
Broke the closest window I found, then I dipped out
Suddenly, I discovered little voices mumbling up in my head
It had me wondering what was it my mother said
Back when I was younger, it had my brain wracked
As I stumbled off in the night towards the train tracks

Sitting on the tracks waiting for the night train
Looking down the road, ain't never gonna go back
Listen for the whistle through the wind and raindrop
Who's gonna ride the devil's train tonight?
Sitting on the tracks waiting for the night train
Looking down the road, ain't never gonna go back
Listen for the whistle through the wind and raindrop
Who's gonna ride the devil's train tonight?

So there I was, stalking through the dark with a buzz
I figured I should walk, that'll ease me off of these drugs
It's like a shark, had to keep movin', it's that or be ruined
If I sat still I was doomed, and that wasn't doin'
So I marched through the park slow, gone like Donnie Darko
The sparkle of the starlight glowed like charcoal

Despite my demeanor, the night seemed more serene
Than a morphine fiend in a morgue, it seemed like I'd lost it
That was when my grand-pops' carcass emerged from the dark
Gurgling his words of carnage, but he couldn't talk
Something about the birth of sadness
I scurried off; I was on the verge of madness

I raced, fast-paced, and the landscape was strange
Like a plane parallel to this one but rearranged
Came to a slope that was steep, beggin' for sleep
As I climbed up, taking my focus off of the creeps
Within the foggy distance, I saw a silhouette that got bigger as I stepped
The train tracks were wet
I saw a shiny grin from afar like it was happy
This is what he said as he started to walk past me

It's a nice night for a walk, would ya mind if I joined you?

Do what you wanna do

Well that's great, 'cause I'm going to
And not to annoy you but, see, I really have to ask
What a young dude like you's doin' out by the tracks?
You waitin' on a train?

Nah, man, let me explain

" Alright

I'm mindin' my business so maybe you should do the same
I just been a witness to something sick and sadistic
So twistedly disgusting you should feel real lucky you missed it

Oh, but easy with the tongue, son, try to listen carefully
What you've seen's scary, but nothing when compared to me
I could show you things to paint all your dreams haunted
I could make you scream if I wanted
Or I can be the bee in your bonnet, your best friend forever
Two peas in a pod flockin' like birds of a feather
And you never have a need to beg, work, or steal
If all this sounds worth it then let's make a deal
All you want in life for price of your soul
All the money you can fold, power that you can hold
I'll put you in control
Only if you're down to roll down these train tracks tonight

But where we gonna go?

Sitting on the tracks waiting for the night train
Looking down the road, ain't never gonna go back
Listen for the whistle through the wind and raindrop
Who's gonna ride the devil's train tonight?
Sitting on the tracks waiting for the night train
Looking down the road, ain't never gonna go back
Listen for the whistle through the wind and raindrop
Who's gonna ride the devil's train tonight?