A friend asked for words to "Green Light on the Southern" by Norman
Blake which is on "Rice and Blake", AuralTradition/Rounder 202,
Vancouver Folk Festival Recordings
Maybe others would be interested.
Green Light on the Southern
Standing on the sidetrack at the south end of town,
On a dry, hot, dusty August day, the steam pipe blowing down,
The fireman with his long oilcan oiling the old valve gear,
Waiting for the fast mail train the semiphore to clear.
The engineer in the old high cab, his gold watch in his hand,
Looking at the waterglass and letting down the sand,
Rolling out on the old main line, taking up the slack,
Gone today but, so they say, tomorrow he'll be back.
Cho:
Oh, if I could return to those boyhood days of mine,
And that green light on the Southern, Southern Railroad Line.
Creeping down the rusty rails, the weed-grown branch line,
Section houses gray and white by the yard limit sign,
The hoggers call the old highball, no more time to waste,
Heading done to Birmingham with a ten-car local freight.
The whistle screams with a hiss of steam, the headlight gleams clear,
The drivers roll, the green and go is getting mighty near,
Handing up the orders to engine crew on time,
It's the Alabama Great Southern, AGS, Railroad line.
Have fun with it...
-- Chuck Crawford, Toronto
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