Riding the Rods

[Verse 1]
Well, it's hell when the cinders coming flying
Pelting and a-belting like hell
With a purr like a kettledrum battle
To the rat-a-tat of the rails
And the tinder ahead is a-swaying
Tossing and a-jumping like sin
Rope is a-chewing my backside
Blistering up my skin
Yeah, blistering up my skin

[Verse 2]
I've ridden luxurious moments
On a one-inch rod underneath
While the devil sat, watching and grinning
While I hung by the skin of my teeth
I clung for my life in the Rockies
Frisco to rocky old Maine
Boarding on the rods of a rattler
In the guts of a limited train
Yeah, guts of a limited train

[Verse 3]
To be drenched in cascading water
That the old girl takes on the fly
Tip the community bottle
With some fellows I met on the line
Got a billion stars on the ceiling
And a home that'll never deny
A luckier you'll meet in
Your whole dang tangled-up life
Yeah, your whole dang tangled-up life

[Verse 4]
I've been kicked off at lonely waystations
The tanks end out on the plains
But before the old girl could get itching
I'd die for the breakings again
So I'll see you down the road up yonder
When the Lord calls all good men
To board that train with a holler
I'll be under there, strapping in
Yeah, under there, strapping in
Yeah, under there, strapping in
Yeah, riding the rods again and again and again and again