The Hellbound Train

[Verse 1]
A cowboy laid on a bar room floor
Having drunk so much, he could drink no more
So he fell asleep with a troubled brain
To dream that he rode on a hell-bound train

[Verse 2]
The engine with murderous blood was damp
It was brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp
An imp, for fuel, was shoveling bones
While the furnace rang with a thousand groans

[Verse 3]
The boiler was filled with lager beer
The devil himself was the engineer
The passengers were a most motley crew
Church member, atheist, Gentile, and Jew

[Verse 4]
Rich mеn in broadclothes, and beggars in rags
Handsome young ladiеs, and withered old hags
Yellow and black, red, brown, and white
All chained together, oh God, what a sight

[Verse 5]
While the train rushed on at an awful pace
The sulphureous fumes scorched their hands and face
Wider and wider the country grew
And faster and faster the engine flew

[Verse 6]
Louder and louder the thunder crashed
Brighter and brighter the lightning flashed
Hotter and hotter the air became
Till the clothes were burnt from each quivering frame

[Verse 7]
And out in the distance there arose such a yell
"Ha, ha," said the devil, "We're nearing hell!"
Then oh, how the passengers shrieked with pain
And begged the devil to stop the train

[Verse 8]
"And you bullied the weak, and you robbed the poor
The starving brother you turned from your door
You laid up gold with the canker rust
And have given free vent to your beastly lust"

[Verse 9]
"You've justice scorned, and corruption sown
You've trampled the laws of nature down
You drunk, cheated, plundered, and lied
And mocked at God in your hell-born pride"

[Verse 10]
"Your flesh will waste in the flames that roar
And my imps torment your forever more"
Then the cowboy awoke with an anguished cry
His clothes wet with sweat and his hair standing high

[Verse 11]
Then he prayed as he never had prayed till that hour
To be saved from his sins and the demon's power
And his prayers and his vows were not in vain
For he never rode that hell-bound train