It's time to be aboard the northbound train
Before my life goes down the drain
Each night I can hear its whistle blow
As the dusky diesel starts to slow
There's another sound getting louder now
Like a party or a roaring row
Or the howling of a thousand souls
Being raked over the devil's coals
It's time to be aboard the northbound train
Escape the wastes of life in vain
And before long I'll be born again
On the badlands of some higher plain
See the backs of cities and border towns
Over hills and valleys, ups and downs
We'll ride the rails through the wind and rain
Over lakes of space and waves of grain
I'll leave my old life miles behind
Once out of sight, twice out of mind
You never know till you're round the bend
If it's the beginning or the end
I'll play my guitar to the stars
To the rhythm of the rolling cars
I'll sing my song with a shot of rye
One look back before I say good-byemore