7 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Video
Fear Of Trains Lyrics
it was the army train that took her daddy from her
it was the bible train that took her momma, too
and that high loud whistle made her horse run away
but the straw the broke the camel's back was you
it was the government train that took away her childhood
it was the kkk that took away her past
it was the white man's will that hers be broken
but that barefoot girl could run too fast
because the world's too cold for a girl like that
with a blackfoot soul, and a cowboy hat
everything she loved went down the dragon track
she had a fear of trains
In the beet fields of montana
she's always coming on dead rails
to break the plow and whisper:
"honey, bound to live is bound to fail,"
and in a park in san francisco
her momma shrieks about the lord
and down the dead rails there's an echo
the wind is whistling "all aboard!"
it was the wagon train that took away her country
it was the oil train that took away her land
and she could have been the belle of the ponderosa
but that was not the fat man's plan
it was the bible train that took her momma, too
and that high loud whistle made her horse run away
but the straw the broke the camel's back was you
it was the kkk that took away her past
it was the white man's will that hers be broken
but that barefoot girl could run too fast
with a blackfoot soul, and a cowboy hat
everything she loved went down the dragon track
she had a fear of trains
she's always coming on dead rails
to break the plow and whisper:
"honey, bound to live is bound to fail,"
and in a park in san francisco
her momma shrieks about the lord
and down the dead rails there's an echo
the wind is whistling "all aboard!"
it was the oil train that took away her land
and she could have been the belle of the ponderosa
but that was not the fat man's plan
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Rough Trade Publishing
Duration
3:14
Sentiment
Negative
Submitted by
delial On Aug 07, 2005
More The Magnetic Fields
All My Little Words
The Book of Love
Papa Was A Rodeo
California Girls
Absolutely Cuckoo
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Great song. Maybe the girl is a metaphor for the whole blackfoot nation. I'm not sure.
Great song. Maybe the girl is a metaphor for the whole blackfoot nation. I'm not sure.
Great song. Maybe the girl is a metaphor for the whole blackfoot nation. I'm not sure.
Why does that keep happening?
I feel like the idea that "the straw that broke the camel's back was you" goes unexplored in the song. What did I do to her?
Also: I am a big fan of the phrasing in "her momma shrieks about the lord."
I've always wondered about that line too. Maybe what Steve Merrit is saying is that white America as a whole (ie you, the listening audience) are all in a small part responsible for the violence done to the Blackfoot (and other) nations, for example by living off the gains from it but not acknowledging it.
Just downloaded this after not hearing it for years.
Whew. It's utterly great. And yes, I think it's about one person suffering as an entire tribe (nation, really) suffered from the coming of the 'fat man'. But like others, I'm puzzled by "the straw that broke the camel's back was you' because it seems so personal. Perhaps it just fitted well.
His deadpan delivery is a bit like Lou Reed's, and I am so pleased I rediscovered it.