Leaving on a midnight train
A week or so ago I was driving on a Saturday and this song came on the radio. And the next thing I knew I was gesticulating and waving my hands and telling the story along with Gladys in my car. Her voice makes everything she's singing seem true, true, true. And the image of the train leaving in the dark of night gets me every time. I don't want to think about what happens when they get there, or how things might look in the harsh light of day. How his world might be hot and sticky and smelly. How she might find herself saying, "What the hell am I doing in this podunk backwater?!" As long as they're on that train, and it's still nighttime, their future is hopeful.
As long as the Pips keep up their groove-icular moves, everything will be alright.
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Trains could be a great form of transportation if you want to sit back and see the countryside roll by but, unfortunately, the view gets pretty grim whenever the view turns urban. I'm not sure which came first...did trains ruin the neighborhoods that they run through or did someone decide to run trains only through the ugly neighborhoods?
ReplyDeleteAround here, the only useful passenger trains are Detroit to Chicago and Detroit to Toronto. Both are pretty much only used as a one-off experience. Once you realize that you will be stopping in every town along the way, you quickly decide that you will drive, next time.
wooo! wooo!
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