Ridin' That Drexel Train

(Frailing Banjo Opener)

Chorus:
Drexel train, Drexel train,
Someday I’ll be ridin’ that Drexel train.

(Frailing Banjo chorus. )

When I was just a young lad,
We lived near the tracks,
On the poor side of town,
Our clothes were made,
Out of gunny sacks

I had a yen to travel,
Around the world I would roam,
But I knew I had no money,
So I went down to the bank,
And took me out a loan.

Chorus/Banjo Break

Now the sheriff’s lookin’ for me,
And the posse’s gettin’ near,
Maybe tomorrow they will catch me,
Down in some Texas hideaway,
And for my life I do fear.

The Drexel train is five miles long,
The last coach is the funeral car,
And that graveyard train is carryin’ me,
Now At last I'll be travellin'
But I won't be travellin’ far.

Chorus/Banjo Break

Frailing Style Religious Banjo Song

Chorus:
As I walked out on Armageddon one day,
I didn’t have too much to do
Didn’t have to much to say,
As I walked out on Armageddon one day.

I saw some angels standing by yonder tree,
I said to them “What’s this got to do with me?”
They looked at me and they laughed out loud,
And then they disappeared up into a cloud.

Just then I heard a terrible sound,
Everyone was yelling and running around,
I said to them “Why you all running away?”
They said to me “Why it’s the Judgement Day.”

Chorus and Banjo Break

So I picked up my banjo and I picked up my wine,
And I told them all everything will be fine,
I told them not to worry and carry a light load,
Then I turned around and I took off down the road.

Banjo

I Took A Little Trip Down Town

I went to hang out in a down town bar,
A trendy place where happy people are,
They made me check my six shooter at the door,
And lay my Bowie knife on the table,
But that didn’t matter to me,
Because I’ve been down town before,

I threw the door wide open,
Like I’se swaggerin’ into an old saloon,
I made people get out of my way and make me a little more room,
I ordered whisky from the barkeep and told him, “Leave the bottle,”
Spit tobacco juice on the floor,
I made a nuisance of myself and they were all a hopin’
That I don’t come down town no more.

Then some brave lad he tried me,
Got in my face, and he told me I’m not welcome,
Took me by the elbow and showed me toward the door,
I looked at him and asked him
If he thought it worth his life,
Then I shot him with my six-gun,
And I stabbed him with my knife,

They might hang me from the gallows,
My boots danglin’ three feet off the ground,
The firin’ squad might shoot me at the crack of dawn,
I’ll ask them for a last cigarette and smoke it down real slow,
They’ll ask if I have any last words of regret,
And expect that I’ll let my head hang down,
I’ll just look them in the eye and say,
“If you don't mind, I'd like to take a little trip down town.”

Drexel Train Repousse

There is a train at 4 am
That hammers its way
Through the Drexel countryside,
Pounding steel tracks
With carloads of coal
Bound for LaCygnes
And fires hotter than hell,

In the valley of the dead
Bones lie scattered
Waiting for some modern Ezekiel
To reconstitute them into their former selves,
And the train rolls on
Forging different realities
On its one-way track
Through the methamphetamine jungle,
Beating out its own existence
Amidst the backdrop
Of the town now in despair
Over its new-found and unwanted reputation
Afraid that some pale rider will paint the town red,

The local tinsmith doesn’t look up
As he beats a tattoo on the sheet metal table,
“That fellow brought in a brand new trumpet
And wanted me to dent it all up with my ball-peen hammer,
We don’t know what happened out there,
Mebbe the train drove him crazy.”

Above Niagara Falls 

Niagara Falls

Standing at the edge
Only twenty feet away
From bliss
The pull of vertigo
Nearly overpowering
Fingers grip the iron rail
Just a foot up and a little push Is all it takes.

Digital Love

So far you have only been electronic,
So is there a time and place
Where we could meet
Where I could touch you with my finger
To see if you are real?

I’ve pushed all the buttons
On my cellphone,
But evidently not the right ones
To ring you up,
Sometimes I feel so deleted.

Could you please take a cellphoto of yourself
So I can hold you
In the palm of my hand?
Then we could digitally dance
And I could email you a photo of me
Having some wine,
And could you do likewise?
Who knows where this could lead
This digital night is just beginning.

The Drexel Train

There is a train at 3 AM,
Screaming like Boanerges,
The whistle hurts the dogs’ ears,
It makes the coyotes yelp,
The people who live next to the tracks
Talk louder as it approaches
A Doppler shift as it passes:
“There’s THE TRAIN, Honey,”
As if she didn’t know.

I lie there in abiding calmness,
Listening to the train of consciousness
As it passes through and unloads
Thoughts and visions
Memories
Dreams of the future
Carloads of information
Until I am full again.