The Rail Song Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Jeffro2 

Cover art for The Rail Song lyrics by Adrian Belew

I’m surprised there are no comments on this song. I used to listen to this one quite a bit when it was originally released and it is a song that I’ve found never leaves my consciousness for very long, even after all of these years. I believe it is about coming of age. The railroad is his childhood innocence. He longs for the simpler time in his life when he not only had fewer problems that come with adulthood, but also the thrill that he used to get from doing simple things. The jet airplane is a symbol for adulthood and the bird of prey represents the fact that change is inevitable.

Positive
Subjective
Nostalgia
Coming Of Age
Childhood Innocence
Change
Simplicity
Thrill