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Two Trains Lyrics

Black and white
The background shifts
Erasing time
Retracing steps
What are you going to do?

Before the fall
Before the flood
After the sinking feeling and the final cut

What are you going to do?
We're all waiting for you

Outbound train is always late
We stay lost inside our day
Inbound train, engine glows
Approaches home, never slows

Outbound train is flashing red
We stay lost inside our head
Inbound train, engine glows
Approaches home, never slows

What are you going to do?
We're all waiting for you
2 Meanings

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Cover art for Two Trains lyrics by Yo La Tengo

When we are kids we are educated on morals and pure expression of feelings like honesty, compassion, contentment, hard-work, love. Things are perceived to be more absolute/pure. But as adults we soon realize that nothing's black nothing's white thus 'Black and white, the background shifts' probably talking about the time when we come face to face with the subjectivity of things in life.

'Before the fall before the flood after the sinking feeling and the final cut' refers to that sinking feeling we get on the confrontation with reality when one reaches that state, when everything that we have believed in, for so long, is now being questioned and we know that it will never be the same. The real question now is 'what are you going to do?'

'Out bound train is always late' perhaps means that expression of true feelings which we hide inside us takes a long long time while we keep on 'staying lost inside our daily life'. The reason for this is explained in the nest two lines which perhaps mean that what affects us from the outside, what we get (against our expectation) from the society (or maybe some particular person), acts as an 'impound train' shutting up the expression of those feelings. I think they are trying to get to the root cause of what ultimately leads to indifference/apathy.. but then of course the question is 'what are we gonna do' when we reach there?

My Interpretation
Cover art for Two Trains lyrics by Yo La Tengo

Should be "Outbound train" and "Inbound train" instead of "Loud bound" and "Impound", respectively.

 
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