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Lookin' For A Ride

from Up For Air by John Egenes

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about

his last day on earth: a man meets the grim reaper on a freight train...

lyrics

in a train yard out of Memphis, snow blowin’ through the door
on a cold november evening, 1954
hole up in a boxcar, in a world outside my dreams
on the rails of the IC line, down to New Orleans

As I waited for the train to leave I tried to stay awake
the cold cut through my mackinaw and I began to shake
and the chill ran long and deep inside, ‘til I was almost froze
just a grim reminder of the livin’ that I chose.

then the boxcar door slid open and a figure crawled inside
just another isolated soul looking for a ride

with a longcoat tied around him, he pulled his suitcase in
that eight wheel driver hit a lick and the wheels began to spin
he turned to set his grip down, closed the door against the snow
He said, “thank you, friend, for lettin’ me in. I got nowhere else to go.”

Well I thought he might be crazy, maybe borderline insane
I’d seen his kind down every track, on every kind of train
But he handed me a bottle, and he rolled himself a smoke
I watched him as he settled in, and listened as he spoke.

he said, “it’s only you and me now, ain’t no one else outside.
“I guess the lord makes room for fools and thieves, looking for a ride.”

There was something in that boxcar I couldn’t comprehend
Though I’d traveled every mile of railroad track from end to end
That stranger looked right through me, he just stared out into space
and I could see that he was blind by the look upon his face

He said, “Boy, I can see the future. I can see the years ahead.
“I’ve seen the day when you were born, and the day when you’ll be dead.
“There ain’t no such thing as fortune, ain’t no such thing as grace.
“There ain’t no way to beat the odds, you’ll never win this race”

“But there’s room enough for foolishness, so just take it all in stride.
“Life’s an empty boxcar, and we’re all just looking for a ride”

I must have drifted off to sleep, when I woke up he was gone
The boxcar it was empty, and I sat there all alone
And in his place a half full whiskey bottle on the floor
and the sound of the big wheels singin’ down the rails outside the door

There’s ghosts who walk among us, things ain’t what they seem
I couldn’t tell if he’d been real, or if it was all a dream
But somewhere I crossed over, and I was feelin’ fine
About the time that freight train crossed the Louisiana line

And as I finished off the bottle, I was feeling warm inside
And I let it carry me away, ‘cause I was looking for a ride

credits

from Up For Air, released February 1, 2009
Marcel Rodeka: drums, percussion
Rob Burns: bass
Mike Moroney: rhythm guitar
John Egenes: lead guitar, mandolin

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about

John Egenes Dunedin, New Zealand

Download anything you see here for free (you can pay if you want, but you don't have to...) Author, multi- instrumentalist and session musician for countless artists, producer, songwriter, all around likeable guy.

And you might want to read his book, Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
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