Thanks for stopping by. In the wake of last week’s awful attack on the US Capitol, I just wanted to share the lyrics for an uplifting song that’ll be on the next album. To me, “Bright Rails Shine” is a sort of hymn to the promise of America. I hope we may find healing and move toward a more unified, ethical, and welcoming society. Stay safe, wear a mask, and spread love.
Bright Rails Shine
Bright rails shine through the Carolina lowlands
through the South Dakota badlands / past the Gulf of Mexico
Bright rails shine through the Mississippi cotton
glistening and forgotten / old ribbons fiery and aglow
Bright rails shine / trodden tracks to Chicago
Waxahatchie and Colorado / on the Zephyr to the bay
Bright rails shine through the cities alabaster
and the country even faster / orange blossom fruited plains
*Oh I’ve known the power and her lonesome whistle’s glory
our story yet to unfold
delicate flower bending and broken and bowed
in need of tending, in need of sunlight
water from a cool mountain stream
of a new American dream
Bright rails shine past Evansville and Cairo
the Allegheny and Ohio / curved and winding serpentine
Bright rails shine by Louisiana Bayous
on the passes & the cut-throughs / burnin wood and turpentine
Bright rails shine by the mounds of the first nations
winding round the reservations / the price of freedom in our gaze
Bright rails shine on the Cannonballs and the Katy
feathers beads and furs and ladies / from Cherokee to Santa Fe
*Oh I’ve known the power and her lonesome whistle’s glory
our story yet to unfold
delicate flower bending and broken and bowed
in need of tending, in need of sunlight
water from a cool mountain stream
of a new American dream
Bright rails shine with the wet dew of favor
on the sweat of the men who did labor
white and black and Chinese laid bright rails shine
Bright rails shine from the Sawtooth to the Smokies
in the memories of the Okies / all along the dust bowl trail
Bright rails shine from Alpine to El Paso
where a cowboy throws a lasso / desert winds howl and wail
Bright rails shine oh how I long to love you
may your sweet song rise above you / like a peaceful blanket laid
Bright rails shine on your hope and your promise
may your goodness be upon us / until the end of days
*Oh I’ve known the power and her lonesome whistle’s glory
our story yet to unfold
delicate flower bending and broken and bowed
in need of tending, in need of sunlight
water from a cool mountain stream
of a new American dream