The Hellbound Train

Lyrics

[Verse 1] A cowboy laid on a bar room floor Having drunk so much, he could drink no more So he fell asleep with a troubled brain To dream that he rode on a hell-bound train [Verse 2] The engine with murderous blood was damp It was brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp An imp, for fuel, was shoveling bones While the furnace rang with a thousand groans [Verse 3] The boiler was filled with lager beer The devil himself was the engineer The passengers were a most motley crew Church member, atheist, Gentile, and Jew [Verse 4] Rich mеn in broadclothes, and beggars in rags Handsome young ladiеs, and withered old hags Yellow and black, red, brown, and white All chained together, oh God, what a sight [Verse 5] While the train rushed on at an awful pace The sulphureous fumes scorched their hands and face Wider and wider the country grew And faster and faster the engine flew [Verse 6] Louder and louder the thunder crashed Brighter and brighter the lightning flashed Hotter and hotter the air became Till the clothes were burnt from each quivering frame [Verse 7] And out in the distance there arose such a yell "Ha, ha," said the devil, "We're nearing hell!" Then oh, how the passengers shrieked with pain And begged the devil to stop the train [Verse 8] "And you bullied the weak, and you robbed the poor The starving brother you turned from your door You laid up gold with the canker rust And have given free vent to your beastly lust" [Verse 9] "You've justice scorned, and corruption sown You've trampled the laws of nature down You drunk, cheated, plundered, and lied And mocked at God in your hell-born pride" [Verse 10] "Your flesh will waste in the flames that roar And my imps torment your forever more" Then the cowboy awoke with an anguished cry His clothes wet with sweat and his hair standing high [Verse 11] Then he prayed as he never had prayed till that hour To be saved from his sins and the demon's power And his prayers and his vows were not in vain For he never rode that hell-bound train