The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
There's a Spanish train that runs between
Guadalquivir and old Saville
And at dead of night the whistle blows
And people hear she's running still
And then they hush their children back to sleep
Lock the doors, upstairs they creep
For it is said that the souls of the dead
Fill that train ten thousand deep
Well a railwayman lay dying with his people by his side
His family were crying, knelt in prayer before he died
But above his bed just a waiting for the dead
Was the Devil with a twinkle in his eye
Well God's not around and look what I've found, this one's mine
Just then the Lord himself appeared in a blinding flash of light
And shouted at the Devil, get thee hence to endless night
But the Devil just grinned and said I may have sinned
But there's no need to push me around
I got him first so you can do your worst
He's going underground
But I think I'll give you one more chance
Said the Devil with a smile
So throw away that stupid lance
It's really not your style
Joker is the name, poker is the game
We'll play right here on this bed
And then we'll bet for the biggest stakes yet
The souls of the dead
And I said look out, Lord, He's going to win
The sun is down and the night is riding in
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line
Oh Lord, He's going to win
Well the railwayman he cut the cards
And he dealt them each a hand of five
And for the Lord, he was praying hard
Or that train he'd have to drive
Well the Devil he had three aces and a king
And the Lord, he was running for a straight
He had the queen and the knave and nine and ten of spades
All he needed was the eight
And then the Lord he called for one more card
But he drew the diamond eight
And the Devil said to the son of God
I believe you've got it straight
So deal me one for the time has come
To see who'll be the king of this place
But as he spoke, from beneath his cloak
He slipped another ace
Ten thousand souls was the opening bid
And it soon went up to fifty nine
But the Lord didn't see what the Devil did
And he said that suits me fine
I'll raise you high to a hundred and five
And forever put an end to your sins
But the Devil let out a mighty shout, my hand wins
And I said Lord, oh Lord, you let him win
The sun is down and the night is riding in
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line
Oh Lord, don't let him win
Well that Spanish train still runs between
Guadalquivir and old Saville
And at dead of night the whistle blows
And people fear she's running still
And far away in some recess
The Lord and the Devil are now playing chess
The Devil still cheats and wins more souls
And as for the Lord, well, he's just doing his best
And I said Lord, oh Lord, you've got to win
The sun is down and the night is riding in
That train is still on time, oh my soul is on the line
Oh Lord, you've got to win
Guadalquivir and old Saville
And at dead of night the whistle blows
And people hear she's running still
And then they hush their children back to sleep
Lock the doors, upstairs they creep
For it is said that the souls of the dead
Fill that train ten thousand deep
Well a railwayman lay dying with his people by his side
His family were crying, knelt in prayer before he died
But above his bed just a waiting for the dead
Was the Devil with a twinkle in his eye
Well God's not around and look what I've found, this one's mine
Just then the Lord himself appeared in a blinding flash of light
And shouted at the Devil, get thee hence to endless night
But the Devil just grinned and said I may have sinned
But there's no need to push me around
I got him first so you can do your worst
He's going underground
But I think I'll give you one more chance
Said the Devil with a smile
So throw away that stupid lance
It's really not your style
Joker is the name, poker is the game
We'll play right here on this bed
And then we'll bet for the biggest stakes yet
The souls of the dead
And I said look out, Lord, He's going to win
The sun is down and the night is riding in
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line
Oh Lord, He's going to win
Well the railwayman he cut the cards
And he dealt them each a hand of five
And for the Lord, he was praying hard
Or that train he'd have to drive
Well the Devil he had three aces and a king
And the Lord, he was running for a straight
He had the queen and the knave and nine and ten of spades
All he needed was the eight
And then the Lord he called for one more card
But he drew the diamond eight
And the Devil said to the son of God
I believe you've got it straight
So deal me one for the time has come
To see who'll be the king of this place
But as he spoke, from beneath his cloak
He slipped another ace
Ten thousand souls was the opening bid
And it soon went up to fifty nine
But the Lord didn't see what the Devil did
And he said that suits me fine
I'll raise you high to a hundred and five
And forever put an end to your sins
But the Devil let out a mighty shout, my hand wins
And I said Lord, oh Lord, you let him win
The sun is down and the night is riding in
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line
Oh Lord, don't let him win
Well that Spanish train still runs between
Guadalquivir and old Saville
And at dead of night the whistle blows
And people fear she's running still
And far away in some recess
The Lord and the Devil are now playing chess
The Devil still cheats and wins more souls
And as for the Lord, well, he's just doing his best
And I said Lord, oh Lord, you've got to win
The sun is down and the night is riding in
That train is still on time, oh my soul is on the line
Oh Lord, you've got to win
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What an amazing song!! the lyrics are soo good! such a clever idea and song... as for the meaning, its pretty obvious isnt it!!
Metal God!
And they never let him back on the 3.15 to Paddington again.
See also 'Devil's eye' the classic sequel to this epic tale of the fight between good and evil, and no I'm not talking about his eyebrow(s)
Kind of obvious that it's a simple story about 'good' and 'evil', though there are a few interesting twists to go with it.
For starters, the quote "evil shall always triumph because good is dumb" comes to mind, in reference to how the devil cheats in this to win.
There's also the implication that 'God' isn't truly omniscient after all, since he didn't see the cheat happen.
One friend of mine I made listen to the song hated it since it creeped her out to think of the concept of one's soul, which yeu spend yeur entire life prep'ing for the afterlife, is lost on a bet of which yeu had no control over.
Yeu can even take it a bit farther, and point out that it's basically a description of gambling in general, not just on the grand cosmic scale; never bet anything yeu're not willing to loose. And of course the rules of poker: 1 don't cheat, 2 if yeu cheat, don't get caught, 3 if yeu get caught, shoot first.
Chris Deburgh's songs often have an influence from chistianity, and usually not in quite the way one'd expect, such as 'a spaceman came travelling' covering the concept of the angel heralding the birth of christ actually being an alien and the star was his ship. This one's not much different, a take on how 'maybe things aren't quite as we believe'. For some it'll make them think about things, for others, they'll get pissy and hate the song.
Regardless, it's catchy, has an amusing story, and love the vocal work, just so much power and emotion in the words. Some will hate it, some will find it trite, and others can just enjoy it and examine the message. Being "good" doesn't always guarantee a win, people wouldn't cheat, lie, steal and so on if it wasn't profitable. It's a risk same as anything else; to cheat in gambling is as much of a risk as the gambling is; chance for higher rewards, chance for loosing more than yeu can afford. Is it worth it? One can argue that sometimes it might be, but it can just as easily take a turn far for the worse, as theft and cheating in many cases in the past, and even in some locations in the present, hold the death penalty, or other horrible punishments. Take yeur choice on if it's worth the risk, but always keep in mind that yeu have to be prepared to accept the consequences of the loss when gambling in any shape or form.
This song is great.... but for some reason everyone confuses it with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". Even though they are COMPLETELY different.
This is gay