Bruce Springsteen – The New Timer

Know something about this song or lyrics? Add it to our wiki.
Send "The New Timer" Ringtone to Cell

He rode the rails since the great depression
Fifty years out on the skids
He said you don't cross nobody
You'll be all right out here kid

Left my family in Pennsylvania
Searchin' for work I hit the road
I met Frank in east Texas
In a freight yard blown through with snow

From New Mexico to Colorado
California to the sea
Frank he showed me the ropes, sir
Just till I could get back on my feet

I hoed sugar beets outside of Firebaugh
I picked the peaches from the Marysville tree
They bunked us in a barn just like animals
Me and a hundred others just like me

We split up come the springtime
I never seen Frank again
'Cept one rainy night he blew by me on grainer
Shouted my name and disappeared in the rain and the wind

They found him shot dead outside Stockton
His body lyin' on a muddy hill
Nothin' taken, nothin' stolen
Somebody killed him just to kill

Late that summer I was rollin' through the plains of Texas
A vision passed before my eyes A small house sittin' trackside
With the glow of the saviours beautiful light

A woman stood cookin' in the kitchen
Kid sat at the table with his old man
Now I wonder does my son miss me
Does he wonder where I am

Tonight I pick my campsite carefully
Outside the Sacramento Yard
Gather some wood and light a fire
In the early winter dark

Wind whistling cold I pull my coat around me
Make some coffee and stare out into the black night
I lie awake, I lie awake sir
With my machete by my side

My Jesus your gracious love and mercy
Tonight I'm sorry could not fill my heart
Like one good rifle And the name of who I ought to kill

Send "The New Timer" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by oofus

Track duration: 05:45


The New Timer song meanings
Add your thoughts

2 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:I don't know exactly why, but this is my favorite track off Tom Joad. It's so sad and lonely and for me the live described is so pointless, just about staying alive. There are a couple of lines that really hit me.

    First, the lines about Frank, who was found dead, "His body lyin' on a muddy hill / nothin' taken nothin' stolen / somebody killin' just to kill"

    Second, the lines where he thinks about his own son who he left behind: "Now I wonder does my son miss me / Does he wonder where I am"

    While other Springsteen songs, though sometimes very dark, always have some kind of hope or at least the possibility of hope, the person in this song has rezignation in his misfortune. Seems like the only reason he still lives is to find the one who killed Frank, but he hasn't even got his name.
    Flag MartijnVeenendaalon January 20, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Another subtle link is found in this song, that stresses the influence of John Steinbeck's novel on "The Ghost of Tom Joad". In Steinbeck, the Joads also take a job 'picking peaches', just as this song's protagonist does.

    Like "Youngstown", this song is also inspired by Dale Maharidge's 1985 book "Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass".
    Flag hberingson July 09, 2012   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain