1
It was the army train that took her daddy from her
It was the bible train that took her momma too
And that high loud whistle made her horse run away
But the straw the broke the camel's back was you
It was the government train that took away her childhood
It was the KKK that took away her past
It was the white man's will that hers be broken
But that barefoot girl could run too fast
CHORUS:
Because the world's too cold for a girl like that with a
Blackfoot soul and a cowboy hat
Everything she loved went down the dragon track
She had a fear of trains
BRIDGE:
In the beet fields of Montana
She's always coming on dead rails
To break the plow and whisper "Honey,
Bound to live is bound to fail"
And in a park in San Francisco
Her momma shrieks about the Lord
And down the dead rails there's an echo
The wind is whistling all-aboard
CHORUS
It was the wagon train that took away her country
It was the oil train that took away her land
She could have been the belle of the ponderosa
But that was not the fat man's plan
CHORUS
It was the bible train that took her momma too
And that high loud whistle made her horse run away
But the straw the broke the camel's back was you
It was the government train that took away her childhood
It was the KKK that took away her past
It was the white man's will that hers be broken
But that barefoot girl could run too fast
CHORUS:
Because the world's too cold for a girl like that with a
Blackfoot soul and a cowboy hat
Everything she loved went down the dragon track
She had a fear of trains
BRIDGE:
In the beet fields of Montana
She's always coming on dead rails
To break the plow and whisper "Honey,
Bound to live is bound to fail"
And in a park in San Francisco
Her momma shrieks about the Lord
And down the dead rails there's an echo
The wind is whistling all-aboard
CHORUS
It was the wagon train that took away her country
It was the oil train that took away her land
She could have been the belle of the ponderosa
But that was not the fat man's plan
CHORUS
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Just downloaded this after not hearing it for years.
Whew. It's utterly great. And yes, I think it's about one person suffering as an entire tribe (nation, really) suffered from the coming of the 'fat man'. But like others, I'm puzzled by "the straw that broke the camel's back was you' because it seems so personal. Perhaps it just fitted well.
His deadpan delivery is a bit like Lou Reed's, and I am so pleased I rediscovered it.