On the Right Track

Train songs, he said aloud, have a special place in the history of American music. As if on cue, his right foot began slappin' time to the distinct sound of a freight train pourin' down the tracks, (not to be confused with the sound of a horses foot in gravel he reminded himself) as his left hand joined the tour, flinging flesh on the upbeat to faded denim on the down. chuckka chuckka chuckka BOOM chuckka chuckka BOOM BOOM. Add a cardboard box for the kick, a trashcan lid for the snare, a bottle of Tokay, and maybe he could invoke the spirit of Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams or Chuck Berry, BOOM chuckka BOOM.
He remembered maybe the best one line he had ever written and it played sweetly over the growing cacophony of his one man hobo percussion ensemble,

"My soul is a freight train and on the right track,
can't tell if it's going or just gettin' back."

Coal, steam, diesel, Electro-motive. Fuel. Takes money to move honey. First class, coach, economy, cattle car. Classes and compartments, all going far. Engineer, conductor, baggage man, cook, all hear the rhythm and all hear the hook. Boom chuckka chuckka, boom boom.

Photo of Old Number 7 by Jason Elhart.