Listen for the Train

Me and my brother used to walk along this railroad track
We’d get fries and Coca-Cola from the old Snack Shack
Dad would reach into his wallet for a few dollar bills
And say, «Y'all better watch for traffic by the cotton mill
And please, boys, listen for the train.»
Oh my, how the years have gone by
Youth is just a blink of an eye
Oh, it’s crazy how this town has changed
And it’s crazy which things are the same
I still listen for the train. Listen for the train
I used to cruise around the square in an old Chevrolet
I drove that baby-blue Beretta like a Z28
Daddy threw me the keys my seventeenth birthday
And said, «A good father will giveth and he’ll taketh away
Have fun, son, but listen for the train. Please.»
My how the years have gone by
Youth is just a blink of an eye
Oh, it’s crazy how this town has changed
And it’s crazy which things are the same
I still listen for the train. Listen for the train
I was eighteen when the mill closed up and the railroad slowed down
Now there’s fast food with a strip mall and a Wal-Mart on the bypass around the
town
Oh and now I get a little teary-eyed when I drive my kids to school
I sit and wait for a train to go by, and they say, «Daddy what’s the matter
with you?»
My how the years have gone by
Youth is just a blink of an eye
Oh, it’s crazy how this town has changed
And it’s crazy which things are the same
Oh, it’s crazy which things are the same
I said, «It's crazy which things are the same
Boys, listen for the train. Listen for the train
Me and my brother used to walk along this railroad track.»