Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions - Lyrics

Branded

Well, I'm branded, wherever I go
Tryin' to outrun a bad story, everybody seems to know
Might as well be wearin', a ball and chain
Cause everywhere I travel, see my picture with a number by my name.

Spent some time in San Francisco,
Locked up for vagrancy
I busted out a time or two, took a run at getting free
They put me back in the jailhouse
I finished servin' my time
Turned me loose and the man said
I'll dog ya to the end of the line

Now I'm branded, wherever I go
Tryin' to outrun a bad story, everybody seems to know
Might as well be wearin', a ball and chain
Cause everywhere I travel, see my picture with a number by my name.

The trouble with the truth, it always comes around
Seems to be there waitin' for me, in every town
Well, I'm guilty of the crime, of tryin' to get back home
Don't wanna bother nobody, just wanna be left alone

But I'm branded, wherever I go
Tryin' to outrun a bad story, everybody seems to know
Might as well be wearin', a ball and chain
Cause everywhere I travel, see my picture with a number by my name.

Country Boy Rock & Roll

You can tell I'm from the country, see I'm from out of town
I'm beginning to catch on, Now I'm letting my hair down
I've been a rockin', I've been a rollin'
Some folks think I look foolish, let it make a fool out of me.

I've worked in fields of cotton, I've worked in fields of corn,
But I ain't seen nothin' like it, since the day I was born
I've been a rockin', I've been a rollin'
Some folks think I look foolish, let it make a fool out of me.

I walked in a crowded dance hall, I didn't know a soul,
Some hillbillies started pickin', everybody rocked and rolled
I've been a rockin', I've been a rollin'
Some folks think I look foolish, let it make a fool out of me.

Well I've spent all my money, Corn and cotton I have sold
I have left the old farm, stay in town and rock and roll
I've been a rockin', I've been a rollin'
Some folks think I look foolish, let it make a fool out of me. ('em)
Some folks think I look foolish, let it make a fool out of me

Drifting Apart

Our home is like a prison, where we're both servin' time
I'm a stranger in your world now, and it's drivin' me out of my mind
Drifting apart, drifting apart.
Darlin' we're drifting apart.
Out of reach, out of heart
We're slowly drifting apart.

Sometimes I remember, when our love was so young and new
How could such a perfect picture, be shattered and broken in two.
Drifting apart, drifting apart
Darlin' we're drifting apart
Out of reach, out of heart
We're slowly drifting apart.

Out of reach, out of heart
We're slowly drifting apart.

Bridge Washed Out

Well, the bridged washed out, and I can't swim
And my baby's on the other side.

When I awoke this a mornin' the rain was a pouring down
I was gonna wed the little river girl just over the bridge across town
Now I'm a runnin' up and down the river and my nerves are driving me wild
Cause the bridge washed out and I can't swim and my baby's on the other side

Oh rain oh rain stop fallin' dark clouds hurry from the sky
The preacher and my bride are waitin' and the weddin' bells are startin' to chime
Well I can't kiss and hold her and it's drivin' me out of my mind
Cause the bridge washed out and I can't swim and my baby's on the other side

Yeah I got one foot in the water one foot solid on the ground
Well I try to swim that ragin' ol' river but I know if I try I'd drown
There's not one boat around me they hogged on out with the tide
Coz the bridge washed out and I can't swim and my baby's on the other side

Yeah rain oh rain stop a fallin'.dark clouds hurry from the sky
The preacher and my bride's a waitin' and the weddin' bells are startin' to chime
Well I can't kiss and hold her and it's drivin' me out of my mind
Cause the bridge washed out and I can't swim and my baby's on the other side
Yeah, the bridge washed out and I can't swim and my baby's on the other side

A World Without You

There was a time, I held you in my arms
Life was perfect, complete through and through
Now you're gone and it's shattered all to pieces
I'm learning to live in a world without you.

A world without love is so hard to bear
It leaves a soul empty with no one to care
Existing day after day, trying hard to find my way
While learning to live, in a world without you.

I walk the floor then turn to the bottle
My heart aches, no matter what I do
A broken heart can only take so much hurting
While learning to live, in a world without you.

A world without love is so hard to bear
It leaves a soul empty with no one to care
Existing day after day, trying hard to find my way
While learning to live, in a world without you.

Hangman

I killed another man today, it's hard to believe
Well I lost count at thirty and I've grown to numb to grieve
The bottle helps me cope, when I lay down at night
And when the dope rolls through my veins, it all fades out of sight.

Hangman, hangman, that's my stock and trade
Hangman, hangman, sending bad men to their graves
Well who killed who, I ask myself, time and time again
God have mercy on the soul of this hangman

There's a woman down the street, named Rosalie McFall
She don't ask me any questions, when I come to call
Her body keeps me warm, her words are soft and kind.
She holds me in her arms till the bad dreams leave my mind

Hangman, hangman, that's my stock and trade
Hangman, hangman, sending bad men to their graves
Well, who killed who, I ask myself, time and time again
God have mercy on the soul of this hangman
God have mercy on the soul of this hangman

Ghost Train Four-O-Ten

Think I'll go down to the depot, where the train don't run no more
Take a ticket and start walkin', down to the old Gulf shore,
I'm lookin' for a train, that runs silent with the wind,
Haulin' satchels back from nowhere, Ghost Train Four-O-Ten

Big money took my cotton, left me busted down to scratch.
Well, my woman couldn't take the hard times, she never comin' back.
Ain't no use in me stayin', send word to my next of kin
I'm leavin', yes I'm leavin', on Ghost Train Four-O-Ten

Well, I've seen it in my dreams, I've heard it in my mind
Somewhere between 8-O-6, just past the 12-O-9,
A tortured soul is all it takes, to ride it to the end
Black steel bound for nowhere, Ghost Train Four-O-Ten

Gamblers, thugs and thieves, and the likes of me
No questions asked or answered, how it is, is how it be
No particular destination, headin' back where it's just been,
Haulin' tear-stained weary travelers, onGhost Train Four-O-Ten
Ghost Train Four-O-Ten

Hard Working Man

What will become of the working man, With honest sweat on his brow
Is the nation that raised him to build it, gonna turn its back on him now
Take away his pride and dignity, give his job to some foreign land
Here's a question that needs a straight answer
What will become of the hard working man

In better times in old America, we sang the Working Man Blues with such pride
Many who worked 40 hours week after week have been let go, pushed off to the side
And I'll tell ya, nothing is sadder, than the soul of a hard working man
With no means to help out his family, and nothing to do with his hands

What will become of the working man. With honest sweat on his brow
Is the nation that raised him to build it, gonna turn its back on him now
Take away his pride and dignity, give his job to some foreign land
Here's a question that needs to be answered,
What will become of the hard working man

Here's a question that needs to be answered
What will become of the hard working man.

I Run To You

I run to you when I'm lonely, I run to you when I'm feeling blue
Each step I take, leads to you only
When I need love, I run to you.

This world, is sometimes cold,and hard to bear
What would I do, sweetheart, if you weren't there
When things go wrong, and my dreams fall apart
You lift me up, you touch my heart

I run to you, when I'm lonely. I run to you, when I'm feeling blue
Each step I take, leads to only
When I need love, I run to you.

No one else, in this world, could take your place
I feel the love, in your embrace.
And I long in my heart, for you to feel, eternally
My love is real

I run to you, when I'm lonely. I run to you, when I'm feeling blue
Each step I take, leads to only
When I need love, I run to you.
When I need love, I run to you.

Porter Wagoner's Grave

A world-wearied man with tear-filled eyes
Walked in off the street of the uncommonly wise
Into the church meeting with this story he came
Sometimes angels and strangers are one and the same.

The preacher said "Sir, you're welcome in here.
Now tell us as much as you'd want us to hear."

And the stranger said, "It was no more than an hour ago, people
I was looking for shelter for the night.
I wanted to go somewhere out of the way,
Somewhere peaceful and quiet.
So I went to a cemetery close by Thompson Lane
And with full respect, I entered it and found rest from the rain.
I laid down under a sycamore and I was barely asleep
When someone said 'Hello stranger' and touched the boots on my feet.
His hair was pure silver, almost like a crown of glory on top.
And the rain didn't touch him, not one single drop.
His voice was familiar, it brought me comfort and peace

He laughed and said, 'Well, we picked a strange place to meet.
But I understand. I've often come here to pray
When the burdens of life put stones in my way
And you see, friend, you and me we're brothers
Though we've never met.
We've both known heartache, disappointment
And the pain of regret.
The full weight of sadness, love and its cost
And without love, a soul is nothing but empty and lost.
And I've come to tell you, to go on now and be brave.
You can live again.
You know it's her love that you crave.
Go find the one you left behind, hold her,
Take her by the hand.
Show her how much you need her.
I believe she'll understand.
Now son, you take a look at this ground.
It's filled with things unsaid.
There's a world of good intentions here
In the land of the dead.
And, friend, I'm here to tell you on this very night
I was sent by your maker, the giver of life.
To tell you there's rest for your soul.
There's peace and relief.
If you'll just surrender your burdens,
Lay them at God's feet.
Walk out of this place.
Go now and live.
In the light of a pure perfect presence
That loves and forgives.'

He wore a long purple coat, covered in wheels
Red leather boots with sparkling heels.
On a dark, stormy night, a lost soul was saved.
Brought into the fold on Porter Wagoner's grave.

Little Heartbreaker (The Likes of You)

Well, you ain't nothin' but a little heartbreaker
A tiny little teardrop, mover and a shaker
I swear by the moon and stars above you.
You got me wrapped around your pretty little finger
My heart is a bell, you know how to ring her
So all of this to say 'Baby I love you."

Can't help myself when the sun goes down,
Thinkin' 'bout you, go into town
And askin' everybody I see if they've seen you
Well, you bring me, then you turn me down
And run me around and around and around
My heart ain't ever seen the likes of you.

Well, you ain't nothin' but a little heartbreaker
A tiny little teardrop, mover and a shaker
I swear by the moon and stars above you.
You got me wrapped around your pretty little finger
My heart is a bell, you know how to ring her
So all of this to say 'Baby I love you."

Gonna call ole Moon, get a little unwound
Go to Mississippi then a Texas town
Play a little country music along the way
Gotta get away from you coz you break my mind
Baby, I'm gone for good this time.
And adios is all there is to say

You ain't nothin' but a little heartbreaker
A tiny little teardrop, mover and a shaker
I swear by the moon and stars above you.
You got me wrapped around your pretty little finger
My heart is a bell, you know how to ring her
So all of this to say 'Baby I love you."