Railroad Man
[Verse 1]
Mama said the railroad made broken men
Said I'd pay the price if I ever took to joinin' them
But in sixteen years
I'd 'bout had enough
Of plowing fields and coal dust

[Verse 2}
Hopped a car in the rail yard
'Bout a mile down the track
Wasn't more than a second or two
When I saw him starin' back
He said, "Son‚ I know what you think you'll find here
"But what I gotta say
"You oughta hear"

[Chorus}
He said
There's more than broken bodies on this side of the tracks
Dreams come here
And they never go back
And once I had me a loving wife
But that was back in Kansas
And that's another life
[Verse 3]
Ten years ago
When I was just a kid
I tried to make a dollar
But dimes were all they'd give
Told my loving girl that I'd be home soon
But once you're on the railroad
Making dimes is all you do

[Chorus]
And he said
There's more than broken bodies on this side of the tracks
Dreams come here
And never go back
And once I had me a loving wife
But that was back in Kansas
And that's another life

[Verse 4]
He said
Son go back home
And don't you go back
Ain't a life worth living
For the men who jump these tracks

[Verse 5]
I looked down at his hands
Stained with dirt and dust
Face sunk with pain
From a life of railroad rust
[Chorus]
And he said
There's more than broken bodies on this side of the tracks
Dreams come here
And never go back
So go and find yourself a loving wife
Maybe move to Kansas
And start another life

[Chorus}
And he said
There's more than broken bodies on this side of the tracks
Dreams come here
And never go back
And once I had me a loving wife
But that was back in Kansas
And that's another life