Sidetracked conveniently five steps from the mainline,
Fresh off of a grain porch drinking swill.
Down from picking up in Maine,
Counting change.
"Oh how I, I would do anything
For that old junktrain to turn manifest.
And highball, yeah I'd sing that railroad song
By the time the sun is setting in the west"
No time or purpose as embers smolder,
Holed up in pines of green.
Pablo writes "D.O.S."
Where mouths don't share what their eyes have seen.
"See those days are gone and I can't stand one more,
I've fought this war counting miles alone.
I've seen it all, every goddamn state,
Out here son it's as rough as I have known."
All I have known
With sky above is home,
And ground beneath is bed,
So ride fast, live slow without regret.
"I've got no time for regret,
Those thoughts solve nothing in the end.
Got blistered hands, lived full through rejection
Long endured 'cause I came up poor.”
"Hell no I, I wouldn't change a thing,
Those old junktrains all turn manifest.
And highball, yeah I'll sing that railroad song
By the time the sun is setting in the west."
Fresh off of a grain porch drinking swill.
Down from picking up in Maine,
Counting change.
For that old junktrain to turn manifest.
And highball, yeah I'd sing that railroad song
By the time the sun is setting in the west"
Holed up in pines of green.
Pablo writes "D.O.S."
Where mouths don't share what their eyes have seen.
I've fought this war counting miles alone.
I've seen it all, every goddamn state,
Out here son it's as rough as I have known."
With sky above is home,
And ground beneath is bed,
So ride fast, live slow without regret.
Those thoughts solve nothing in the end.
Got blistered hands, lived full through rejection
Long endured 'cause I came up poor.”
Those old junktrains all turn manifest.
And highball, yeah I'll sing that railroad song
By the time the sun is setting in the west."
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This is just a hard core, post-punk, crusty take on "big rock candy mountain"
off on a rail siding from the main line
Just got off the platform on a type of rail car called a "grainer" (for transporting grain) and drinking cheap beer.
Picking berries in Maine, a seasonal job for migrants.
pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.
A "junker" is a train with the lowest priority. "manafest" has the highest.
A high ball is a railroad signal, a raised ball signifying it's ok to go ahead.
Basically, camping in the woods
Fred actually talked about this in an interview, reading the graffiti under a bridge in Spanish. He said it said not to stand under the bridge as it's federal property, instead to stand waiting for the train at another location near by.
The video for this song has the camera zoom into the graffiti "Dirty Old South", so that's what D.O.S. means.
(There's not really much more in this song to puzzle out)