Everything Went Quiet

Roll on through to the other side of town
Passed the quarry, the river beds, over bridges and bunker sheds
Roll on through to the pits and the rail car yard
"This is where you prove your worth"
A brother's dare, that devil's smirk

"Oh, this is the way it will always be"
A kid brother in the shadow of a cold heart's legacy
"Oh, this is where we see who runs first
It's you and me and the train
The steel tracks and the dirt
Oh, you will never live up to me"
And so he stood trembling, waiting for smoke above the trees

Roll on through
He could hear it rumbling, and he could feel it beneath his feet
Roll on through
"Closer now, hold your ground. Steadfast, ignore the sound"

Everything went quiet just before the rush took over his head
With the pull and the push of the engine
Think back with the coal and the steam
The racing thoughts, the questions, the adolescent rivalry
And with a nod from the elder, the younger's fear topples over
Over rails and over timber
"That's no dodge, you fucking coward"
And the train rolls on, and the train rolls on
"Yellow-belly, go home"
And the train rolls on