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