Steam Is Up

Boxcars, signals, switching engines - Coal piles and a hundred tracks
Visiting that big ‘ol roundhouse - Sunlight seeping through the cracks

Climb the ladder of an engine - Grandpa’s close behind me warning
“Look out kid and don’t you wander by yourself this busy mornin”

Turn the regulator handle - Ring the bell, release the brakes
Eyes light up like christmas candles - What an awesome noise it makes

And rolling out into the sunshine - For a day out on the main line
This must be as glorious as it gets

Towns and trees are left behind us - Steam is up we’re down the road
Speeding past the green spring willows - And a couple in a boat

And Grandpa’s smiling out the window - Grabs the whistle cord to blow
I am shov’ling coal so eager - Pressure’s up, look at her go

And rolling out the road in sunshine - What a day here down the main line
This must be as glorious as it gets

Looking back it’s such a long time - Like this dream that I once had
Grandpa’s gone for decades now and - I am feeling somewhat sad

But sun is shining through my window - Waking up and looking out
Should I stroll down by the railroad - It is springtime, not a cloud

I’ll Leave my jacket in the closet - Have a cold drink from the faucet
Hang on to the dreams that I hold dear

When I grow old I’ll be an engineer.

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Hvis ingen har set eller hørt denne her før, er det fordi det er min egen. Den er mere eller mindre skrevet på det indtryk jeg husker jeg fik, da jeg som meget lille knægt spurgte min mor hvad min farfar lavede, og fik svaret at "farfar arbejder ved banen". Han viste sig senere, at være elektriker på remisen i Århus, men det gjorde det bestemt ikke mindre spændende at få lov at komme med ham på arbejde fra tid til anden

Her er et link til en lille live-performance af sangen på YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qhHzd0RryI