The Gold Train

Verse 1

Sister said she caught the signal, one long whistle in the dark

Cinder dust on her shoulder where she rode the rail

She said the train was painted golden from the sun that set

I told her I believed it when I saw her walking down the track

Tote bag slung over her shoulder, like it weighed a stone

Folding map inside, of roads she'd never seen before

She took a bus last week

Pre-Chorus

You're going somewhere

Where the streets are quieter than they used to be

And maybe someone's waiting for you

Who's been holding on this long, just like me

What are you searching for?

In the place you go to hide

The gold of morning coming through your windowpane

Tell me what you found

Chorus

Riding on the gold train

You don't come back here no more

Carrying something in your pocket

Something I'll never know

I'm staying right behind the stove

Burning what's left to burn

Riding on the gold train

Where does the track end?

Sister gone, sister free

No way of knowing who she meets

Verse 2

Station master said it was a one-way ride

She asked him how many times he'd ever seen that line

He looked at her with a sadness in his eyes

Like he wished for every road to bend and change

Then handed her a ticket, torn in half along the fold

Said 'Don't look back' like a warning or an oath

I kept the water boiling on the stove

Watching shadows creep across the wall

The clock keeps ticking, counting out the hours

Counting how long till you're gone for good at all

Pre-Chorus

You're going somewhere

Where the streets are quieter than they used to be

And maybe someone's waiting for you

Who's been holding on this long, just like me

What are you searching for?

In the place you go to hide

The gold of morning coming through your windowpane

Tell me what you found

Chorus

Riding on the gold train

You don't come back here no more

Carrying something in your pocket

Something I'll never know

I'm staying right behind the stove

Burning what's left to burn

Riding on the gold train

Where does the track end?

Sister gone, sister free

No way of knowing who she meets

Bridge

Maybe you're flying over mountains now

Or maybe you've already turned around

Maybe every path I take

Just keeps me closer to this town

You said it's a long time till we see each other again

But the wind remembers the names

I wish I'd asked for one more hug before the door

Now it's just a sound that floats across the yard

The whistle you left behind

Outro

Sister gone, sister free

No way of knowing who she meets