 A Texas cowboy on a barroom floor Had drunk so much he could hold no more; So he fell asleep with a troubled brain To dream that he rode on the hell-bound train. The engine with human blood was damp, And the headlight was a brimstone lamp An imp for fuel was shoveling bones, And the furnace roared with a thousand groans. The tank was filled with lager beer, The devil himself was engineer; The passengers were a mixed-up crew - Churchman, atheist, Baptist, Jew; The train rushed on at an awful pace And sulphur fumes burned hands and face; Wilder and wilder the country grew, Fast and faster the engine flew. Loud and terrible thunder crashed. Whiter, brighter lightning flashed; Hotter still the air became Till clothes were burned from each shrinking frame. Then came a fearful ear-splitting yell, Yelled Satan, "Gents, the next stop's hell!" Twas then the passengers shricked with pain And begged the devil to stop the train. He shrieked and roared and grinned with glee, And mocked and laughed at their misery, "My friends, you've bought your seats on this road I've got to go through with the complete load." "You've bullied the weak, you've cheated the poor, The starving tramp you've turned from the door, You've laid up gold till your purses bust, You've given play to your beastly lust. You've mocked at God in your hell-born pride. You've killed and you've cheated; you've plundered and lied, You've double-crossed men and you've swore and you've stole, Not a one but has perjured his body and soul. "So you've paid full fare and I'll carry you through; If there's one don't belong, I'd like to know who, And here's the time when I ain't no liar, I'll land you all safe in the land of fire. "there your flesh will scorch in the flames that roar, You'll sizzle and scorch from rind to core." Then the cowboy awoke with a thrilling cry, His clothes were wet and his hair stood high. And he prayed as he never until that hour To be saved from hell and the devil's power His prayers and his vows were not in vain and he paid no fare on the hell-bound train. |
