The creator God

This is the rule, that cross and affliction always precede comfort. God does not comfort any unless they are sad, just as He also does not give life to any unless they are dead and does not declare any righteous unless they are sinners. For he creates everything out of nothing.

Martin Luther, AE, Vol. 1, Commentary on Genesis, p. 345.

The enemy of the Lord becomes his choir

The creation undergoes a type of conversion in regards to her Creator in the pages of Holy Scripture. There are times when the created world is an enemy to the Lord and the mighty God is present in her midst as a conqueror, as a mighty and fearful warrior. Psalm 114:

The sea looked and fled;

Jordan turned back.

The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?

O Jordan, that you turn back?

O mountains, that you skip like rams?

O hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,

at the presence of the God of Jacob,

who turns the rock into a pool of water,

the flint into a spring of water.

Yet these same, the sea and the mountains, are called on to rejoice in the Lord’s salvation, to sing and clap their hands and worship their maker for his goodness. The enemy of the Lord becomes his choir. Psalm 98:

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

the world and those who dwell in it!

Let the rivers clap their hands;

let the hills sing for joy together

Law and Gospel apply to the creation in general as well as to man and woman created in his image. The world as fallen, sin-ruined opponent of God is rightfully afraid of Yahweh, the God of hosts. Creation as the handiwork of God, humbly serving her master, swept up in sacramental service, bearer of God’s goodness and picture of his grace, receiver of Christ’s redemption, is a worthy instrument of praise.

Germany embracing Luther, Reformation anew

Interesting article here about Wittenberg and Luther and Germany today. Including a few swipes at the LCMS.

Thanks to my friend Rev. Steve Saxe down in Greenville, SC for sending it to me.

Martin Luther, a renegade monk, triggered the Reformation here five centuries ago by nailing a long list of grievances to the door of the Castle Church. But as Wittenberg celebrates the founding of Protestantism, it is finding one thing in short supply: Lutherans.

Generations of secularism and communism have exacted a severe toll on church membership in this eastern German city. Today, fewer than one in five people identify themselves as Christian, one of the lowest percentages in the country. Most worshipers who fill the pews in local churches are tourists longing for a glimpse of the holy sites frequented by Luther when he lived here between 1508 and 1546.

"It's a very strange experience for foreign visitors, especially Americans, to come to the city of Luther and discover that east Germany is perhaps the most atheistic region in the world," said Stefan Rhein, director of the Luther Memorials Foundation of Saxony-Anhalt.

The presence of organized religion is so limited in Wittenberg that some U.S. Lutheran organizations are trying to fill the void. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America established a ministry here 10 years ago to cater to the thousands of American pilgrims who visit annually. Study abroad programs for American students have proved so popular that the city plans to open a residential college next year for visiting scholars.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States, has bought a building next to the old Town Church, where Luther used to preach, and plans to turn it into a welcome center for U.S. visitors. The Missouri Synod also plans to start a congregation by reaching out to German atheists, although organizers acknowledge that won't be easy in a city still recovering from 40 years of communist rule.

"In east Germany, you actually have to go up to people and tell them who Jesus was," said Wilhelm Torgerson, a German Lutheran pastor who serves as the Missouri Synod's representative in Wittenberg. "They say, 'Oh yes, Christ. Didn't he have something to do with Luther?' "

"We would like to proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers, and there are certainly a lot of them here," Torgerson added. "Obviously, there is enough work for all of us without stepping on anyone's toes."

Wittenbergers have welcomed the growing American presence for the most part, but there have been some bruised feelings.

Some Missouri Synod leaders have declared that their congregation would be the only true Lutheran church in Wittenberg — an assertion that irritated members of the Evangelical Church in Germany, the largest Protestant body in the country. The Evangelical Church comprises Lutherans, Calvinists and other denominations.

"It was strange for them to come here and say, 'We are the first real Lutherans,' " said Siegfried Kasparick, the Evangelical Church's bishop for Wittenberg. "We've had a Lutheran congregation here since Luther."

ONCE TAKEN FOR GRANTED, NOW CELEBRATED

In Germany, about 30 percent of the population belongs to the Evangelical Church. An additional 31 percent count themselves as Roman Catholic.

In Wittenberg, however, the number of churchgoers is among the lowest in the country. About 15 percent are members of the Evangelical Church, and 3 percent are Catholic. The city also has a small number of Baptists.

National leaders of the Evangelical Church acknowledged they have taken Wittenberg's theological and historical significance for granted in the past. Many west Germans still regard the city, about 60 miles southwest of Berlin, as an east German backwater.

But such attitudes have gradually changed, in large part because of the influx of foreign pilgrims in Wittenberg since the fall of communism two decades ago.

Kasparick, the Wittenberg bishop, said the strong interest from international Lutheran groups has prompted German Protestants to take more pride in their heritage. "They make us stronger," he said.

Wittenberg began a decade-long celebration of the Reformation in September, on the 500th anniversary of Luther's arrival in the medieval city as a priest and teacher at the local university.

A succession of festivals, lectures and other events will run until Oct. 31, 2017, the anniversary of when Luther publicly challenged the authority of the church in Rome by nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church.

The theses were a list of complaints about church doctrine. Luther reserved particular scorn for the sale of indulgences, or the practice of promising salvation in exchange for money. Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther for heresy, but the German's theological rebellion spread across Europe and divided Christianity.

REAWAKENED APPRECIATION

One public-television series a few years ago ranked Luther as the second-most admired figure in German history, behind post-World War II Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. But many Germans are unfamiliar with Luther's theological achievements. He is primarily known as a father of the modern German language, the first person to translate the Bible from Latin into German.

For decades, authorities in communist East Germany tried to suppress Luther's teachings. They promoted the story of an even more radical Reformation-era priest, Thomas Muentzer, who helped spark the peasant rebellion of 1524. Muentzer, a rival of Luther, was seen as more ideologically compatible with the Communist Party.

The East German state later softened its opposition to Luther and sponsored international events to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his birth in 1983. But Wittenberg still became better known for its manufacturing base than its religious heritage.

"People didn't associate Wittenberg as Luther's city, but rather as a city of industry and chemical production," said Eckhard Naumann, mayor of Wittenberg. After the fall of communism, he added, "the city of Wittenberg had to ask itself a lot of questions: 'What are we? Are we the city of Luther? What does that mean in this new world?' "

Today, Wittenberg strongly embraces the old Augustinian monk as central to its identity. Christians may be a minority in Wittenberg, but everybody seems to agree that "Luther Tourism," as they call it, is good for business.

Luther's image is omnipresent in the well-preserved 700-year-old town center, even adorning restaurant menus. Every June, the city holds a festival to commemorate Luther's scandalous 1525 wedding to a runaway nun, Katharina von Bora. The Castle Church attracts 200,000 visitors a year.

It is scheduled to undergo a $45 million renovation by 2015.

Valuable thoughts from Cyberstones on preaching.

Read them all here.

A couple of goodies:

The preacher who does not live his theology, who does not preach from his own pain and joy, in the midst of his own temptation and comfort, is only a philosopher.

Preaching is also doxology. It confesses for the people. It expresses their fears and desires and also their joy. It is not always adversarial.

St. Paul is in the news

Pope: Scientific analysis done on St. Paul's bones ...

Rome catacomb reveals "oldest" image of St Paul ...

Of course, it doesn't hurt that to day is the feast day for St. Peter and Paul.

World's ugliest dog

World's ugliest dog

My Sermon in Latin

Pentecost 4, Sereies B, 2009.

corpus quod salvatur.

corpus quod salvat.

corpus quod dat salvationem.

pax vobiscum!

Hymns tell stories

Occasionally I get some good natured ribbing from folks in the congregation about the singing all the verses of some hymns or about picking several hymns on one Sunday with many verse. Now, we don't do 28 verse marathons but hymns that have 7 , 8 9 verses: we sing all of them. I have never been able to shorten hymns to 4 verses or something like that. I have been to churches where that happens and while it is not the end of the world or anything it always seems harsh to me.

One person in my congregation speaking in favor of singing all the verses said a hymn is like a story. Stopping before the end is like listening to a favorite story and not hearing the ending. Very unsatisfying.

Wild, unreasonable, mad, raging animals

Luther on the second table of the Law, the protective nature of the Commandments:

The Lord thinks thus : I have wild, unreasonable, mad, raging animals in the world, wolf, bears, lions, etc. This is why I need to lock them up behind iron bars and strong walls, lest they strangle each other and work great damage. For if God did not care what caused him to give the Commandments?

Albrecht Peters, Commentary on Luther's Catechisms: Ten Commandments, p. 94.

We it is who in Him are baptized

If then for our sake He sanctifies Himself, and does this when He has become man, it is very plain that the Spirit's descent on Him in Jordan was a descent upon us, because of His bearing our body. And it did not take place for promotion to the Word, but again for our sanctification, that we might share His anointing, …

For when the Lord, as man, was washed in Jordan, it was we who were washed in Him and by Him. And when He received the Spirit, we it was who by Him were made recipients of It. …

And notwithstanding, He who, as the Word and Radiance of the Father, gives to others, now is said to be sanctified, because now He has become man, and the Body that is sanctified is His. From Him then we have begun to receive the unction and the seal, John saying, 'And you have an unction from the Holy One;' and the Apostle, 'And you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. ' Therefore because of us and for us are these words. …

And if, as the Lord Himself has said, the Spirit is His, and takes of His, and He sends It, it is not the Word, considered as the Word and Wisdom, who is anointed with the Spirit which He Himself gives, but the flesh assumed by Him which is anointed in Him and by Him ; that the sanctification coming to the Lord as man, may come to all men from Him ...

It is not the Word then, viewed as the Word, that is promoted; for He had all things and has them always; but men, who have in Him and through Him their origin of receiving them. For, when He is now said to be anointed in a human respect, we it is who in Him are anointed; since also when He is baptized, we it is who in Him are baptized.

Athanasius, Against the Arians, Book 1, 47-48.

Toccata & Fugue in D Minor (BACH, J.S.)

Take a look at this organ. The sight and sound are incredible.

Confessing faith alone, by faith alone

If I were to preach today on the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (which I am not) I would draw a line from Christ on the cross to the martyrs and confessors of the early church to the men at Augsburg to us in our day. I would draw that line with the words of Psalm 119: 41-48:

Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
your salvation according to your promise;
then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your rules.
I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.
I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
and shall not be put to shame,
for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.

Here we can listen to the echoes of the suffering of our Lord who faces those who taunt him but whose hope and trust is in the salvation of the Lord which comes by promise. Jesus spoke his testimony and witness before kings and was put to death. Yet he trusted in his Father who vindicated him.

The early church martyrs followed their Lord in salvation by grace alone through faith alone. To stand before kings and tyrants to feel the sharp sword and yet confess Jesus as Lord is the ultimate in “sola fide”. At that point there is nothing but faith. The flesh cannot feel or see or know God then. One must trust only in the promise of God. Such trust is not manmade but an entire and whole miracle of God the Holy Spirit.

The confessors at Augsburg stood in that same line. Defending the doctrines of faith alone they stood by faith alone. It was no human strength that propelled them to stand up to cast their fate with the Word of God. Such faith by which they stood and spoke is a gift. It cannot be manufactured.

So it is with us in our day. We have only the promises of God. We may be taunted, we may be lonely in our convictions in this world so fallen. We trust only in God’s promises through Christ. They are all we have. Faith alone. We cannot hope for manmade resurrections. They do not exist. We cannot look inside ourselves in whatever situation we face but we must say with the Psalmist, with our Lord, with the martyrs before us and with the Confessors at Augsburg: our hope is in the Lord’s salvation according to his promise.

A Morning Prayer or vow and An Evening Prayer of failure as to the same.

Here are two simple, delightful hymns by Gregory Nazianzen, translated by Allen Chatfield in the late 19th century and available freely here: "Songs and Hymns of the Earliest Greek Christian Poets."

What is delightful about them can partly be ascertained in the titles: "A Morning Prayer" and "A Hymn at Night, after failure to keep vow". It makes one chuckle but is so on the mark as to human nature that one can realizes that whatever the grand monastic intentions and, indeed, achievements of masters such as Gregory, in the end we all must pray prayers like these. We are all sinners in the depths of ourselves and, as the hymn says, we must pray:

The day is down/ night hath prevailed/My Lord I have belied/I vowed, and thought to do/but failed/My steps did somewhere slide...

Thy light, O Christ, again bestow/Turn darkness into day.

A MORNING PRAYER.

'Tis dawn: to God I lift my hand,

To regulate my way;

My passions rule, and unmoved stand,

And give to Thee the day:


Not one dark word or deed of sin,

Nor one base thought allow;

But watch all avenues within,

And wholly keep my vow.


Shamed were my age, should I decline;

Shamed were Thy table too,

At which I stand:--the will is mine:

Give grace, my Christ, to do.

__________________________________________________________________

A HYMN AT NIGHT, AFTER FAILURE TO KEEP VOW.

O Thou, the Word of truth divine!

All light I have not been,

Nor kept the day as wholly Thine;

For Thou dark spots hast seen.


The day is down: night hath prevailed:

My Lord I have belied;

I vowed, and thought to do, but failed;

My steps did somewhere slide.


There came a darkness from below

Obscuring safety's way.

Thy light, O Christ, again bestow;

Turn darkness into day.

Free New Avett Brothers Single Today!

For a limited time you can download the new single, "I and Love and You" from the Avett Brothers here.

"Three words that became hard to say: I and Love and You".

Not Every Child Is Secretly a Genius

The notion of multiple intelligences is uplifting and politically satisfying. Unfortunately, the actual evidence suggests it's wrong.

Batter my heart, three-person'd God

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

John Donne

When a great king has entered a large city

One of the puzzles and mysteries of the Incarnation is the relation between the particular and the universal. In other words, why is it or how is it that the enfleshment of God the Son as one particular, historical, actual man can have universal benefits for all of humanity?

Athanasius has a nice answer;

When a great king has entered a large city and taken up residence in one of the houses in it, such a city becomes worthy of great honor an d is no longer assaulted by any enemy or bandit descending upon it, but rather is deemed worthy of every attention because of the king residing in one of its houses. Such is the case with the king of all. As soon as he came to our realm and took up residence in one body like our own the whole conspiracy against humanity by its enemies has been stopped and the corruption of death which had formerly ruled over them has been obliterated.

On the Incarnation, 9 (cited in Khaled Anatolios, Athanasius, p. 60-61)

Death be not proud

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

John Donne

Avett Brothers live

I cant get enough of these guys, the Avett Brothers, from right here in North Carolina. They have a new record coming out, "I and Love and You", to be released August 11, I think.

Here is a little concert video from NPR. Very nice. A brand new unreleased song is on it, Down with the Shine which is, as I listen to it, about the passing of time, death. What else? Everything, in the end is about death. Makes for good poetry god lyrics and good music.

Enjoy .... NPR Tiny Desk Concert with the Avett Brothers


Here is another Avett Brothers meditation on mortality, "Die, Die, Die":

But nobody knows what lies behind
The days before the day we die...
You can try to swim the sea
But say goodbye to you and me
You can try to swim the sea
You can try to hold the breeze
You can try to hide the sun
But say goodbye to everyone

Great-great-great granddaughter of Nicholas Biddle marries this dude she met a yoga retreat

No, its not the Onion but it should be. It's real. It's the New York Times wedding section. Sometimes on Sundays, we buy a NY Times (yes they have them way out here in western NC). Sometimes, I read it. When we do, I always read the wedding announcements. They crack me up. That section displays a life so different than mine in every way that it is like reading dispatches from outer space.

This one just made me laugh out loud. It is so New York Times as to be a parody, but as I said, it isn't. In case, the Biddle/Lelands read this, hey, all in good fun. Blessings on your new life!

Tania Archer Biddle and Leland Jay Schneider were married Saturday at a private residence in Topanga, Calif. Lotta Alsén, a Universal Life minister, officiated.

Ms. Biddle, 38, who is known as Tabby, is keeping her surname. She designs and markets T-shirts for women and children under her own label, Lotus Blossom Style, based in Santa Monica, Calif. She graduated from Colby College and has a master’s degree in education from the Bank Street College.

The bride is the daughter of Wharton Biddle and Tania Gopcevic Biddle, both of Jamestown, R.I. Her father, who is retired, worked at Biddle & Company, his family’s insurance firm, when it was in Radnor, Pa. Her mother retired as an agent in Philadelphia with Weichert Realtors.

The bride is a paternal great-great-great granddaughter of Nicholas Biddle, the American financier.

Mr. Schneider, 53, is a Los Angeles-based writer and producer of nonfiction and documentary films. Under the name Lee Schneider, he wrote and produced “The World Trade Center: Rise and Fall of an American Icon,” a 2002 television documentary. He was also an executive producer on “Mean Girls: Mind Games,” a 2003 documentary on Discovery Health Channel. His previous marriage ended in divorce.

He is a son of Alfred R. Schneider of Garrison, N.Y., and the late Jane H. Schneider. His father, who is retired, was the vice president for policy and standards at the ABC Television Network in New York. The bridegroom’s mother was a sculptor whose work is in several collections including those at Wellesley College and the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, N.Y.

Ms. Biddle first saw Mr. Schneider as she was coming out of her cabin at a yoga retreat in Zaca Lake, Calif., during a New Year’s holiday in 2006. As he walked down a path, Ms. Biddle, a transplanted New Yorker, noticed his red fleece jacket and thought that he looked like a New Englander. “I thought, ‘Great, someone who gets the East,’ ” she said.

In class the next day, Mr. Schneider noticed Ms. Biddle, too. “She’s tall, beautiful and graceful, and in a yoga class that tends to stand out,” he said.

She accepted his invitation to go on a hike, and on a trail the following day Ms. Biddle said she noticed, “there was just kind of a feel of freedom and familiarity and connection.”

When they returned to Los Angeles, Ms. Biddle, who was new in town, invited Mr. Schneider to become her yoga buddy.

For the next 11 months, Mr. Schneider would pick her up and take her home from class. In the car they had long conversations, and the evenings started to include dinners and music events. “It was a slow courting,” Mr. Schneider said.

Somewhere in the 10th or 11th month of their relationship, Mr. Schneider invited Ms. Biddle over to watch a documentary about Bob Dylan. They never got around to the documentary and spent four hours talking.

“We shared everything we could think of about each other,” he said. “We liked each other’s company so much, I thought, ‘Why not spend the rest of our lives together?’ ”

In July 2008, Mr. Schneider suggested they have a yoga session on the beach, just the two of them.

After their usual partner stretches, Mr. Schneider said to Ms. Biddle, “Let’s change the pattern. There’s one position I’d like to try.”

He got down on one knee.

At first she didn’t realize what was happening. “I thought he was creating a new partner pose,” she said. “I called it ‘the man proposing position,’ ” Mr. Schneider said.

Dreams, you know, are what you wake up from

I spent some time reading Raymond Carver short stories at the beach. I also read a 700/800 page history of the Holocaust but more about that later. Raymond Carver is devastatingly good short story writer. Devestating. Spare, short, simple sentences and stories which tear you to the bone with the price and hurt of being a ruined person in a ruined world. I grabbed these quotes from some website but they dont really do the ficiton justice.


"Dreams, you know, are what you wake up from."


"Woke up this morning with a terrific urge to lie in bed all day and read. "


"Booze takes a lot of time and effort if you're going to do a good job with it."


"I am too nervous to eat pie.""


"What good are insights? They only make things worse."

More on "A Lover's Quarrel with the Evangelical Church"

A week or two ago, I blogged about a book by a friend of mine, Warren Smith called "A Lover's Quarrel with the Evangelical Church". It is a wonderful book. Since that post Warren has been on Issues Etc. You can listen to that half hour interview here ( a direct download mp3).

There has also been a flurry of response at the Charlotte Observer to an article about the book. Here is the latest article which spells out the response.

Here is the original article.

Off to the beach for awhile

To read, be exposed to the harmful rays of the sun and read and eat and read and sleep and catch crab and fish and eat and read and sleep.

New book on depresssion

Lutheran blogger I Trust when Dark My Road, has published a book : I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression. I haven't read the book yet but I will. If the book contains anything like the wisdom, honesty and foundation in Christian truth that the blog does, it will be worth your attention.

Athanasius on sin: the crazy charioteer

The body has eyes in order to see creation and to recognize the Creator through this harmonious order, and it has hearing in order to listen to the divine sayings and the laws of God, and it has hands in order to accomplish necessary actions and in order to extend them toward God in prayer. But when the soul turned away from contemplation of the good and from movement within the good, it was henceforth deceived and moved toward the opposite. Then, having in view its own power, as we said before, and abusing it, it realized that it can also move its bodily members in the opposite direction. So instead of looking at creation, it turned its eyes toward desires, showing that it can do that too.

It thought that as long as it was in motion it would preserve its own dignity and would not be in error in actualizing its capabilities. It did not realize that it was brought into being not merely to be in motion but to move toward what it should. Therefore, the apostolic saying commands, "All things are possible but not all are expedient" (I Cor 6:12).

But human presumption, not regarding what is appropriate and fitting but only its own power, began to do the opposite. So it moved the hands toward the opposite of what they should do and people committed murder; it led the hearing into disobedience and the other members into adultery instead of lawful procreation, the tongue into blasphemy, invective, and perjury instead of fair speech, the hands, to stealing and striking fellow human beings, the sense of smell to all kinds of erotic perfumes, the feet toward the hasty shedding of blood, and the stomach to drunkenness and insatiable gluttony. All these are evils and sins of the soul. They have no other cause but the turning away from what is better.

It is like a charioteer who mounts his horse in the stadium and then pays no attention to the goal toward which he is supposed to be heading; turning away from it, he simply drives the horse whichever way he can — and his capacity corresponds to his wishes. So he would often crash into people he comes across and drive out of bounds, carried wherever the speed of the horses carries him and thinking that by racing like this he will not miss the goal, for he only looks at the track and does not see that in fact he has got away from the goal. So it is with the soul when it has turned from the path to God and moves the members of the body to what is improper, or rather is itself moved by itself along with them. Thus it sins and creates evil for itself, not seeing that it has strayed from the path and missed the goal of truth, in regard to which the blessed Paul, that Christ-bearing man, said: "I press onward toward the goal, the prize of the upward call of Jesus Christ" (Phil 3:14).

(Against the Greeks 4-5) in Athanasius, Khaled Anatolios, p. 46-47.

Regrets

I sometimes hear or read people say that they have no regrets. I always think: really? I have many. Some serious, some more lighthearted.

Some regrets:

1. Not paying attention in my college philosophy class. I was a twenty year old smart aleck who thought he had better things to do. Professor Lehman actually managed to get my attention several times and those little bits of wisdom have been valuable to me. I mourn what I missed by mentally checking out of that class most of the time. I really want to make up for that lack by taking a college philosophy class. It will have to wait until I pay for my children's college adventures.

2. Not learning how to type properly. My mother signed me up in high school for a typing class but I botched it and learned almost nothing. (She also always insisted I should learn basic car repairs. I never did. She was right. It would have been a good idea.)It has forced me to write most of my sermons and other things by hand. I now am at the point where typing this short blog post is a serious burden. I think much better by hand.

3. Not paying attention to my parents in my late teens and early twenties. My own children are growing up into that age (and are blessings beyond my dreams each one of them). As I recall my own years in college and just beyond I remember blasting right out of the house and past my parents without much thought. I wonder now how they felt as I was leaving, as my sisters left also. What grief and worry did they feel, what pangs of loneliness? Selflessly, they did not burden me with their sadness but I know it must have existed. I wish I had had antennae to pick up on it then.

We feel our lives most when they are running out

In our day to day routines, we feel our lives most when they are running out; as we age, as we lose our physical abilities, our health, and of course, family members and friends who are important to us. Then we pause for a moment, sink into ourselves and feel: here was something and now it is gone. It will not return. And it may be that we understand it, truly and deeply, only when it is lost.

David Grossman, New Yorker, "The Age of Genius", June 8/14, p. 70.

The Lord watered the people of Israel with prophetic rains

How great the reward of mercy we receive under the law of Divine adoption! Walk in the way of mercy that you may merit this divine blessing. The kindness of God spreads far and wide. It rains upon the unthankful; and the fruitful earth does not deny its yield even to the wicked. The same light of the world shines on impious and God-fearing alike. Or that we may consider these things mystically, the Lord watered the people of Israel with prophetic rains, and shone upon them in the rays of His Eternal Sun; even upon those who were not deserving. But because they became drenched with the dew of earth the Church of God is now received into that celestial Light, that believing they may also attain to the rewards of mercy.

St. Ambrose. via Historic Lectionary

Summer reading

I and the family are going to the beach next week. My favorite line about the beach is this: I love everything about the beach except the sun, the sand, the salt water and the wind." Only half kidding. We are going to Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. A most beachy place indeed.

But I do love reading at the beach. I am getting my reading material ready. Here is what I have planned so far. Any other suggestions?

Class: A Guide Through the American Status System , recommended by David Petersen.

Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization by Nicholson Baker.


Athanasius by Khaled Anatolios

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy.

The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor

An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy

Whatever collection of short stories by Andre Dubus that I can find that I haven't read.

Some Graham Greene?

A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren .. here is a quote about the book in a review: Though Algren often defines his positive values by showing us what happens in their absence, his hell burns with passion for heaven."

No I won't make it through all of these but I hope to knock off three or four. My system for choosing reading material is totally random. Whatever I happen to see or hear about.

Once again I am open to suggestions.

Train songs I know ...

Just a little list I put together ( with a tiny bit of help) .


1. "3:10 To Yuma" by Sandy Denny
2. "45th of May"
3. "49 Tons" by Fred Eaglesmith
4. "5.15" by Chris Isaak
5. "5:15" by The Who

A

1. "Absolutely Sweet Marie" by Bob Dylan
2. "AC/DC" by Josie Aiello
3. "Across the Tracks Blues" by Duke Ellington
4. "Ain't No Brakeman" by John Mayall
5. "Algoma Central" by Stompin' Tom Connors
6. "All Aboard the Blue Train" by Johnny Cash
7. "All Down the Line" by The Rolling Stones
8. "All Night Train" by The Allman Brothers Band
9. "Amtrak Blues" by Alberta Hunter
10. "Amtrak Is For Lovers" by Houston Calls
11. "Another Journey by Train" by The Cure
12. "Another Town, Another Train" by Abba
13. "Another Train Coming" by Kim Weston
14. "Are You Lonely For Me Baby" by Freddie Scott
15. "At the Station" by Joe Walsh
16. "Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe" by Judy Garland
17. "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe" by Johnny Mercer
18. "Atlantic Coastal Line, The" by Flatt & Scruggs
19. "Auctioner (Another Engine" by REM

B

1. "'B' Movie Box Car Blues" by Delbert McClinton & Glen Clark
2. "B&O Blues" by Big Joe Turner
3. "B&O Trestle at Takoma Park"
4. "Baby Likes to Rock It" by The Tractors
5. "Back Up Train" by Al Green
6. "Baggage Coach Ahead" by Mac Wiseman
7. "Ballad of Eugene Victor Debs" by Joe Glazer
8. "Ballad of John Henry" by Jimmy Dean
9. "Ballad of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad"
10. "Ben Dewberry's Final Run" by Steve Forbert
11. "Ben Dewberry's Final Run" by Andrew Jenkins
12. "Ben Dewberry's Final Run" by Jimmie Rodgers
13. "Ben Dewberry's Final Run" by Hank Snow
14. "Between Trains" by Auburn Lull
15. "Big Black Train" by Flatt & Scruggs
16. "Big Freight Train Carry Me Home" by Boxcar Willie
17. "Big Railroad Blues" by Grateful Dead
18. "Big Rock Candy Mountain" by The Highwaymen
19. "Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Burl Ives
20. "Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Cisco Houston
21. "Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Harry McClintock
22. "Big Steel Rail" by Gordon Lightfoot
23. "Big Train from Memphis" by Credence Clearwater Revival
24. "Blow That Lonesome Whistle Casey" by Al Dexter
25. "Blue Railroad Train" by Jorma Kaukonen
26. "Blue Railroad Train" by Doc Watson
27. "Blue Train" by Johnny Cash
28. "Blue Train" by Lady Day & John Coltrane
29. "Blue Train Blues" by Robert Johnson
30. "Blue Train Blues" by Bukka White
31. "Blue Water Line" by The Brothers Four
32. "Blue Yodel No. 7" by Jimmie Rodgers
33. "Bob Dylan's Dream" by Bob Dylan
34. "Bone Against Steel" by 38 Special
35. "Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train" by Mabel Scott
36. "Boston & Maine" by Kim Wallach
37. "Bound for Hell" by Love and Rockets
38. "Boxcar Blues" by Boxcar Willie
39. "Boxcar Willie" by Roy Acuff
40. "Boxcar's My Home" by Boxcar Willie
41. "Boxcar's My Home" by Willie Nelson
42. "Boxcars" by Joe Ely
43. "Brakeman's Blues" by Jimmie Rodgers
44. "Brave Engineer" by Cisco Houston
45. "Bringin' in the Georgia Mail" by Flatt & Scruggs
46. "Bringin' in the Georgia Mail" by Jim & Jesse McReynolds
47. "Bringin' in the Georgia Mail" by Don Reno & Bill Harrell
48. "Bringin' in the Georgia Mail" by Mac Wiseman
49. "Bringing My Baby Back" by Almaida
50. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" by The Weavers
51. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" by Peter Paul & Mary
52. "Bummin Around" by Boxcar Willie
53. "Bummin' an Old Freight Train" by Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass
54. "BW Railroad Blues" by Townes Van Zandt
55. "Bye, Bye Black Smoke Choo Choo" by Joe Glazer

C

1. "Ca Roule" by CANO
2. "Can't Let Go" by Lucinda Williams
3. "Canadian Pacific" by George Hamilton IV
4. "Canadian Pacific" by Gordon Lightfoot
5. "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" by Gordon Lightfoot
6. "Cane Train" by Bill Scott
7. "Cannonball Blues" by Utah Phillips
8. "Cannonball Blues" by Grandpa Jones
9. "Cannonball Rag" by Doc Watson
10. "Cannonball" by Carter Family
11. "Cannonball" by Seldom Scene
12. "Casey Jones" by Joe Glazer
13. "Casey Jones" by Grateful Dead
14. "Casey Jones" by Johnny Cash
15. "Casey Jones, the Union Scab" by Joe Hill
16. "Casey Junior" from the Dumbo soundtrack
17. "Cash" by Johnny Cash
18. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Cab Calloway
19. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Bill Haley & His Comets
20. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Harpers Bizarre
21. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller
22. "Cherokee Fiddle" by Johnny Lee
23. "Chick-A-Choo Freight" by Bob Newman
24. "Chicken Train" by Ozark Mountain Daredevils
25. "Chinacat Sunflower" by Grateful Dead
26. "Choo Choo Ch'boogie" by Asleep at the Wheel
27. "Choo Choo Ch'boogie" by Louis Jordan
28. "Choo Choo Ch'boogie" by Manhattan Transfer
29. "Choo Choo Comin'" by The Stanley Brothers
30. "City of New Orleans" by Johnny Cash
31. "City of New Orleans" by Arlo Guthrie
32. "City of New Orleans" by C. W. McCall
33. "City of New Orleans" by Steve Goodman
34. "City of New Orleans" by Willie Nelson
35. "Clear the Track, Let the Bulgine Run"
36. "C'Mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by Quad City DJ's
37. "Coal Smoke, Valve Oil and Steam" by Johnny Horton
38. "Come On Train" by Don Thomas
39. "Conjunction Junction" from Schoolhouse Rock!
40. "Country Express" by Wayne Raney
41. "CPR Blues" by Robert Charlebois
42. "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne
43. "Cross the Tracks (We Better Go Back)" by Maceo & The Macks
44. "Crosstie Walker" by Credence Clearwater Revival
45. "Crystal Chandeliers and Burgundy" by Johnny Cash

D

1. "Daddy was a Railroad Man" by Boxcar Willie
2. "Daddy, What's a Train" by Utah Phillips
3. "Daddy, What's a Train?" by Joe Glazer
4. "Daddy, What's a Train?" by Utah Phillips
5. "Danville Girl" by Joe Glazer
6. "Dark Hollow" by Grateful Dead
7. "Daughter of A Railroad Man" by Johnny Cash
8. "Daybreak Express" by Duke Ellington
9. "Day the Train Jumped the Tracks" by Split Lip Rayfield
10. "De Gospel Train" by Marian Anderson
11. "Dead on Time" by Queen
12. "Engine Number 9" by The Deftones
13. "Desert Moon" by Dennis DeYoung
14. "Desperadoes Waiting for the Train" by Guy Clark
15. "Desperadoes Waiting for the Train" by Rita Coolidge
16. "Desperadoes Waiting for the Train" by Nanci Griffith
17. "Desperadoes Waiting for a Train" by The Highwaymen
18. "Desperadoes Waiting for the Train" by Jerry Jeff Walker
19. "Destination Anywhere" by The Marvelettes
20. "Destination Victoria Station" by Johnny Cash
21. "Devil's Train" by Roy Acuff
22. "Different Trains" by Steve Reich
23. "Diplomat, The" by Johnny Cash
24. "Distant Train" by The Seldom Scene
25. "Dixie Flyer" by Randy Newman
26. "Do the Choo-Choo" by Archie Bell & The Drells
27. "Don't Miss That Train" by Sister Wynona Carr
28. "Down by the Station" by Four Preps
29. "Down There by the Train" by Johnny Cash
30. "Downbound Train" by Bruce Springsteen
31. "Downtown Train" by Mary Chapin Carpenter
32. "Downtown Train" by Tom Waits
33. "Draize Train" by The Smiths
34. "Drill, Ye Tarriers" by The Easy Riders
35. "Drive the Last Spkie" by Genesis
36. "Driver 8" by R.E.M.
37. "Drug Train" by Social Distortion
38. "Dulcimer" by David Mallett
39. "Dummy Line, The" by Anne Hills & Cindy Mangsen
40. "Dying Hobo" by Joe Glazer
41. "Dying Hobo" by Doc Watson

E

1. "Early Morning Rain" by Judy Collins
2. "Early Morning Rain" by Ian & Sylvia
3. "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot
4. "Early Morning Rain" by Peter Paul & Mary
5. "Eastbound Freight Train" by Reno and Smiley
6. "Eastbound Train" by Flatt & Scruggs
7. "Empire State Express" by Son House
8. "End of Train Device" by Utah Phillips
9. "Engine 143" by The Carter Family
10. "Engine Engine Number 9" by Roger Miller
11. "Engine of Love" from Starlight Express soundtrack
12. "Engine Number 9" from Starlight Express soundtrack
13. "Engineers Don't Wave from the Train Anymore" by Earl Scruggs
14. "Express" by B.T. Express
15. "Expressman Blues" by Sleepy John Estes

F

1. "Fast Express" by The Stanley Brothers
2. "Fast Freight" by Kingston Trio
3. "Fast Moving Night Train" by Grandpa Jones
4. "Fireball Mail" by Flatt & Scruggs
5. "Fireball Mail" by Roy Acuff
6. "Five Hundred Miles" by Kingston Trio
7. "Five Hundred Miles" by Peter, Paul & Mary
8. "Flyin' CPR" by Stompin' Tom Connors
9. "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash
10. "Freedom Train" by James Carr
11. "Freedom Train" by Merle Haggard
12. "Freedom Train" by Roger Taylor
13. "Freight Train" by Elizabeth Cotten
14. "Freight Train" by Peter, Paul and Mary
15. "Freight Train Blues" by Roy Acuff
16. "Freight Train Blues" by Sidney Bechet
17. "Freight Train Blues" by Boxcar Willie
18. "Freight Train Blues" by Jimmy Dean
19. "Freight Train Blues" by Bob Dylan
20. "Freight Train Blues" by Robert Lee McCoy
21. "Freight Train Blues" by Trixie Smith
22. "Freight Train Blues" by The Weavers
23. "Freight Train Boogie" by Red Foley
24. "Freight Train Boogie" by Reno and Smiley
25. "Freight Train Boogie" by Doc Watson
26. "Freight Train Comin'" by Metallica
27. "Freight Train Heart" by Boxcar Willie
28. "Freight Train Ramble" by Darby & Tarlton
29. "Friendship Train" by The Temptations
30. "Frisco Road" by Utah Phillips
31. "From a Boxcar Door" by Boxcar Willie
32. "From a Rolls to the Rails" by Boxcar Willie
33. "Full Throttle" by Kottonmouth Kings
34. "Funky Soul Train" by Hank Ballard
G

1. "Gambler, The" by Kenny Rogers
2. "Gallopin' Goose, The" by C. W. McCall
3. "Gandy Dancer's Ball" by Frankie Lane
4. "Georgia on a Fast Train" by Billy Joe Shaver
5. "Georgia on a Fast Train" by Johnny Cash
6. "Get Back on the Train" by Phish
7. "Get Down off of the Train" by Isley Brothers
8. "Getting Up Holler" by Cisco Houston
9. "Ghetto Train" by Luther Ingram
10. "Glendale Train" by New Riders of the Purple Sage
11. "Ghost Train" by Bee Gees
12. "Ghost Train" by Marc Cohn
13. "Ghost Train" by Counting Crows
14. "Ghost Train" by Rickie Lee Jones
15. "Go Go Train" by Freda Payne
16. "Going Away" by Utah Phillips
17. "Going Home Train" by Irving Berlin
18. "Golden Rocket" by Boxcar Willie
19. "Golden Rocket" by Hank Snow
20. "Gone Dead Train" by Crazy Horse
21. "Gone Dead Train" by Randy Newman
22. "Gone Dead Train" by Jack Nitzsche
23. "Gospel Train" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
24. "Gospel Train" by Wright Brothers
25. "Graveyard Train" by Credence Clearwater Revival
26. "Great American Bum" by Cisco Houston
27. "Great Locomotive Chase, The" by Robert W. Smith
28. "Greenville Trestle High" by Doc Watson
H

1. "Hank Williams and the Hobo" by Boxcar Willie
2. "Happy Go Lucky Local" by Duke Ellington
3. "Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow" by Roger Whittaker
4. "Hear My Train a Comin'" by Jimi Hendrix
5. "Hear the Whistle Blow a Hundred Miles" by Flatt & Scruggs
6. "Heart Like a Locomotive" by Paul Butterfield
7. "Heart Like Railway Steel" by Charley Patton
8. "Heartbreak Express" by Dolly Parton
9. "Heaven Bound Train" by Carl Story
10. "Heaven Bound Train" by Jackson Gospel Singers
11. "Hell Bound Train" by Love and Rockets
12. "Hello Hopeville" by Michelle Shocked
13. "Here Comes the Train" by Solomon Burke
14. "Hey Porter" by Johnny Cash
15. "Hey, Hey Train" by Johnny Cash
16. "High Speed Train" by REM
17. "Hobo Bill" by Cisco Houston
18. "Hobo Martin" by Benny Martin
19. "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" by Merle Haggard
20. "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" by Jimmie Rodgers
21. "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" by Hank Snow
22. "Hobo Heaven" by Boxcar Willie
23. "Hobo Jungle" by The Band
24. "Hobo's Lullaby" by Woody Guthrie
25. "Hobo's Meditation" by Joe Glazer
26. "Hobo's Meditation" by Jimmie Rodgers
27. "Hobo's Meditation" by Linda Ronstadt
28. "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train" by Louis Armstrong
29. "Homeward Bound" by Simon and Garfunkel
30. "Hot Rails to Hell" by Blue Oyster Cult
I

1. "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow" by Hank Williams
2. "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow" by Johnny Cash
3. "I Know You Rider" by Grateful Dead
4. "I Know You Rider" by Hot Tuna
5. "I Love the Sound of a Whistle" by Boxcar Willie
6. "I Often Dream of Trains" by Robyn Hitchcock
7. "I'll Be Home on Christmas Day" by Elvis Presley
8. "I'm a Train" by Albert Hammond
9. "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome" by Bill Monroe
10. "I'm Leaving on That Late, Late Train" by Solomon Burke
11. "I'm Movin' On" by Ray Charles
12. "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen
13. "I've Been Working on the Railroad" by Mitch Miller & the Gang
14. "I've Been Working on the Railroad" by Traditional
15. "I've Got a Thing About Trains" by Johnny Cash
16. "If Love Was a Train" by Michelle Shocked
17. "In a Station" by The Band
18. "In the Pines" by Merle Travis & Mac Wiseman
19. "In the Station"
20. "India Pacific, The" by Slim Dusty
21. "Into You Like a Train" by Psychedelic Furs
22. "It Takes a Long Train (With a Red Caboose) by Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee
23. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" by Mike Bloomfield
24. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" by David Bromberg
25. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" by Bob Dylan
26. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" by Grateful Dead
J

1. "Jay Gould's Daughter" by Pete Seeger
2. "Jenny Dreamed of Trains" by Sweethearts of the Rodeo
3. "Jerry, Go and Ile That Car" by Harry McClintock
4. "Jesse James" by Grandpa Jones
5. "Jimmie the Kid" by Jimmie Rodgers
6. "Jimmy Did You Know ( We were all gonna ride the train)"
7. "John Henry" by Hylo Brown
8. "John Henry" by Merle Travis
9. "Jungle Train" by Babes in Toyland
10. "Jump that Train" by Foghat
11. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" by The Cure
12. "Just Another Whistle Stop" by The Band
13. "Just like this Train" by Joni Mitchell

K

1. "Keep on Rollin' Down the Line" by Boxcar Willie
2. "Kentucky Hill Special" by Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
3. "King of the Road" by Boxcar Willie
4. "King of the Road" by Roger Miller
5. "Kundalini Express" by Love and Rockets

L

1. "L&M Don't Stop Here Anymore" by Michelle Shocked
2. "L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" by Johnny Cash
3. "Lafayette Railroad" by Little Feat
4. "Last Cannonball" by Mary McCaslin
5. "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" by Robert Johnson
6. "Last Train" by Graham Central Station
7. "Last Train" by Arlo Guthrie
8. "Last Train" by Peter Rowan
9. "Last Train" by Holy Soldier
10. "Last Train" by Allen Toussaint
11. "Last Train for Glory" by Arlo Guthrie
12. "Last Train from Poor Valley" by Norman Blake
13. "Last Train Home" by Pat Metheny
14. "Last Train to Clarksville" by Four Tops
15. "Last Train to Clarksville" by The Monkees
16. "Last Train to Loveland" by Eddie Hinton
17. "Last Train to San Fernando" by Johnny Duncan
18. "Le Train du Nord" by Felix LeClearc
19. "Leavin' Memphis, Frisco Bound" by Jesse Fuller
20. "Legend of John Henry" by Johnny Cash
21. "Let Me Ride the Southbound" by Rex Allen, Sr.
22. "Let the Train Whistle Blow" by Johnny Cash
23. "Letter, The" by Box Tops
24. "Letter, The" by Joe Cocker
25. "Life Is a Mountain Railroad" by Carter Family
26. "Life's Railway to Heaven" by Amazing Rhythm Aces
27. "Life's Railway to Heaven" by Carter Family
28. "Life's Railway to Heaven" by Patsy Cline
29. "Light at the End of the Tunnel" by Richie Havens
30. "Lincoln's Funeral Train"
31. "Linin' Track" by Lead Belly
32. "Linin' Track" by Taj Mahal
33. "Little Engine That Could, The" (Billy May/Warren Foster) by John Denver
34. "Little Stream of Whiskey"
35. "Little Train From Caipira" by Heitor Villa-Lobos
36. "Loco-Motion" by Little Eva
37. "Locomotive" by Motörhead
38. "Locomotive" by Sawyer Brown
39. "Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull
40. "Locomotive Man" by Johnny Cash
41. "London Train" by Oliver Sain
42. "Lonesome Frisco Line" by Darby & Tarlton
43. "Lonesome Joe" by Boxcar Willie
44. "Lonesome Railroad" by Lynn Morris Band
45. "Lonesome Whistle" by Boxcar Willie
46. "Lonesome Whistle" by Johnny Cash
47. "Lonesome Whistle" by Stonewall Jackson
48. "Lonesome Whistle" by Hank Williams
49. "Long Train" by Guy Davis
50. "Long Train Runnin'" by The Doobie Brothers
51. "Long Twin Silver Line" by Bob Seger
52. "Lord of the Trains" by Tom Russell
53. "Losing My Blues Tonight" by Slim Dusty
54. "Lost Train Blues" by Woody Guthrie
55. "Lotta Locomotion" (Andrew Lloyd Webber) by Josie Aiello
56. "Love in Vain" by Robert Johnson
57. "Love in Vain" by Keb' Mo'
58. "Love in Vain" by The Rolling Stones
59. "Love Train" by Jimmy Castor Bunch
60. "Love Train" by The O'Jays
61. "Love's Train" by Con Funk Shun
62. "Lynnville Train" by Robert Earl Keen

M

1. "Maine and the SOO Line"
2. "Mainliner" by Esther Phillips
3. "Mamie's Blues" by Louis Armstrong
4. "Man of Constant Sorrow" by The Stanley Brothers
5. "Man of Constant Sorrow" by Joan Baez
6. "Man of Constant Sorrow" by Bob Dylan
7. "Man of Constant Sorrow" by Rod Stewart
8. "Man of Constant Sorrow" by Soggy Bottom Boys
9. "Many a Man Killed on the Railroad" by Joe Glazer
10. "Marbletown" by Mark Knopfler
11. "Maree Line, The" by Ted Egan
12. "Marrakesh Express" by Crosby, Stills and Nash
13. "Me and Bobby McGee" by Kris Kristofferson
14. "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin
15. "Medicine Train" by The Cult
16. "Meet Me at the Station" by Rev. Gary Davis
17. "Memphis Flyer" by Neil Diamond
18. "Memphis Train" by Rufus Thomas
19. "Metro, The" by Berlin
20. "Midnight Flyer" by The Eagles
21. "Midnight Flyer" by Osborne Brothers
22. "Midnight Flyer" by Mac Wiseman
23. "Midnight Special" by Credence Clearwater Revival
24. "Midnight Special" by Joe Glazer
25. "Midnight Special" by Lead Belly
26. "Midnight Train" by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
27. "Midnight Train" by Jim & Jesse McReynolds
28. "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight & The Pips
29. "Mobile Line, The" by Jim Kweskin & His Jug Band
30. "Monkey and the Engineer, The"
31. "Moose-Turd Pie" by Utah Phillips
32. "Morning Train" by Peter Paul & Mary
33. "Morning Train" by Sensational Nightingales
34. "Morning Train (9 to 5)" by Sheena Easton
35. "Movin' On" by Hank Snow
36. "Mr. Engineer" by J.D. Crowe & the New South
37. "MTA" by The Kingston Trio
38. "Murdertrain a Comin'" by Dethklok
39. "My Baby Thinks He's a Train" by Roseanne Cash
40. "Mystery Train" by Elvis Presley
41. "Mystery Train" by Ronnie Hawkins
42. "Mystery Train" by Sleepy LaBeef
43. "Mystery Train" by The Neville Brothers

N

1. "Never Did Like That Train" by Murray McLauchlan
2. "New Delhi Freight Train" by Little Feat
3. "New Frisco Train, The" by Robert Johnson
4. "New Rider Train" by The Stonemans
5. "New River Train" by Raffi
6. "New Train" by John Prine
7. "Nickel Plate Road 759" by Utah Phillips
8. "Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by Joan Baez
9. "Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band
10. "Night Time in the Switching Yard" by Warren Zevon
11. "Night Train" by James Brown
12. "Night Train" by Buddy Morrow
13. "Night Train" by Oscar Peterson
14. "Night Train" by Bobby Womack
15. "Night Train to Memphis" by Roy Acuff
16. "Night Train to Memphis" by Grandpa Jones
17. "Night Train to Memphis" by Jerry Lee Lewis
18. "Night Train to Memphis" by Joe Maphis
19. "Nine Hundred Miles" by Cisco Houston
20. "Nine Hundred Miles" by New Christy Minstrels
21. "Nine Hundred Miles" by Woodie Guthrie
22. "Nine Pound Hammer" by Chet Atkins
23. "Nine Pound Hammer" by Beau Brummels
24. "Nine Pound Hammer" by David Grisman
25. "Nine Pound Hammer" by Bill Monroe
26. "Nine Pound Hammer" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
27. "Nine Pound Hammer" by Merle Travis
28. "No Expectations" by The Rolling Stones
29. "Nobody Takes the Train Anymore" by Holly Dunn
30. "Number 9 Train" by Tarheel Slim

O

1. "Old 901"
2. "Old Buddy, Goodnight" by Utah Phillips
3. "Old Gospel Train" by Dorothy Love Coate
4. "Old Iron Trail" by Boxcar Willie
5. "Old Train" by Seldom Scene
6. "Old Train" by Tony Rice Unit
7. "On a Cold Winter's Night"
8. "On the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe" by Tommy Dorsey
9. "On the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe" by Johnny Mercer
10. "On the Railway" (traditional)
11. "On the Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann
12. "On the Southbound" by Mac Wiseman
13. "On the Train" by Janis Ian
14. "One After 909" by The Beatles
15. "One More Ride" by Hank Snow
16. "One More Ride" by Johnny Cash
17. "One Toke Over the Line" by Brewer & Shipley
18. "Orange Blossom Special" by Johnny Cash
19. "Orange Blossom Special" by Charlie Daniels Band
20. "Orange Blossom Special" by Flatt & Scruggs
21. "Orange Blossom Special" by Johnson Mountain Boys
22. "Orange Blossom Special" by Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
23. "Orange Blossom Special" by Seatrain
24. "Orange Blossom Special" by Carl Story

P

1. "Pacific 231" by Arthur Honnegar
2. "Pan American" by Hawkshaw Hawkins
3. "Pan American" by Seldom Scene
4. "Pan American" by Hank Williams
5. "Pan American Boogie" by Kate MacKenzie
6. "Panama Limited" by Tom Rush
7. "Parliamentary Trains" by Gilbert & Sullivan
8. "Party Train" by GAP Band
9. "Passage to Bangkok, A" by Rush
10. "Passin' Train" by Sawyer Brown
11. "Passing of the Train" by Rhonda Vincent
12. "Pat Works on the Railroad" by Joe Glazer
13. "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens
14. "Pennsylvania Sunrise" by David Mallett
15. "People Get Ready" by Chambers Brothers
16. "People Get Ready" by The Impressions
17. "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield
18. "People Get Ready" by Rod Stewart
19. "People Got to Be Free" by Rascals
20. "Petticoat Junction Theme" by Flatt & Scruggs
21. "Phoebe Snow" by Utah Phillips
22. "Play a Train Song" by Todd Snider
23. "Poor Little Liza, Poor Girl" by Homer & Jethro
24. "Poor Paddy Works on the Railway" by The Pogues
25. "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" by Warren Zevon
26. "Princess of the Night" by Saxon
27. "Promised Land" by Elvis Presley
28. "Put Me on a Train Back to Texas" by Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson

Q

1. "Queen of the Rails" by Utah Phillips

R

1. "Racing the Train" by Joel Timothy
2. "Ragpicker's Dream, The" by Mark Knopfler
3. "Reuben" by Rob Ickes
4. "Rail Song, The" by Adrian Belew
5. "Railroad Bill" by Cisco Houston
6. "Railroad Bill" by Taj Mahal
7. "Railroad Blues" by Beastie Boys
8. "Railroad Blues" by Dan Thomas
9. "Railroad Bum" by Tex Morton
10. "Railroad Bum, A" by Jim Reeves
11. "Railroad Lady" by Jimmy Buffett
12. "Railroad Man" by Eels
13. "Railroad Man" by Murray McLauchlan
14. "Railroad Son" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
15. "Railroad Song, The" by Jim Croce
16. "Railroad Wife"
17. "Railroad Worksong" by Notting Hillbillies
18. "Railroading on the Great Divide" by Bill Clifton
19. "Railroadin' and Gamblin'" by Uncle Dave Macon
20. "Railroadin' Some]] by Rory Block
21. "Railroads and Riverboats" by Jim Croce
22. "Rambler, The" by Cisco Houston
23. "Ramblin' Man" by Kieran Kane
24. "Ramblin' Man" by Hank Williams
25. "Ramblin' on My Mind" by Eric Clapton
26. "Ramblin' on My Mind" by Robert Johnson
27. "Ramblin' on My Mind" by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
28. "Rambling Blues" by Robert Johnson
29. "Rambling Blues" by Johnny Shines
30. "Rambling Hobo" by Doc Watson
31. "Red Ball to Natchez" by Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney
32. "Red Streamliner" by Little Feat
33. "Refrigerator Car" by Spin Doctors
34. "Reuben's Train" by Flatt & Scruggs
35. "Reuben's Train" by Sidesaddle
36. "Reuben's Train" by Harry Manx
37. "Ride the Train" by Alabama
38. "Ride This Train" by Mel McDaniel
39. "Ridin on the Cottonbelt" by Johnny Cash
40. "Ridin' That Midnight Train" by Doc Watson
41. "Ridin' with the Driver" by Motörhead
42. "Riding on a Railroad" by James Taylor
43. "Riding That Midnight Train" by Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys
44. "Road to Paradise"
45. "Roamer" by Cisco Houston
46. "Rock Island Line" by Lead Belly
47. "Rock Island Line" by Johnny Cash
48. "Rock Island Line" by Johnny Horton
49. "Roll on Buddy" by Aunt Molly Jackson
50. "Roll on Buddy" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
51. "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms" by George Jones
52. "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms" by Buck Owens
53. "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms" by Flatt & Scruggs
54. "Roundhouse Blues" by Moby Grape
55. "Roust-a-bout" by Flatt & Scruggs
56. "R R Express" by Rose Royce
57. "Rude Boy Train" by Desmond Dekker
58. "Rudy" by Supertramp
59. "Run Kate Shelly Run"
60. "Runaway Train" by Rosanne Cash
61. "Runaway Train" by Vernon Dalhart
62. "Runaway Train" by Eric Clapton
63. "Runaway Train" by Elton John
64. "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum

S

1. "Sam's Waiting For A Train"
2. "Same Train, Different Time" by Jimmy Rogers
3. "Same Train" by Rev. Julius Cheek
4. "Sandy Hollow Line" by Duke Tritton & John Dengate
5. "Santa Fe All The Way" by Johnny McCollum
6. "The Scholar (or The Train to Sligo)" by Midnight Well
7. "Sentimental Journey" by Les Brown
8. "Shadows on a Dime" by Ferron
9. "She Caught the Katie" by Barbara Anderson
10. "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" by Tex Ritter
11. "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" by Pete Seeger
12. "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" by The Boswell Sisters
13. "Silver Train" by The Rolling Stones
14. "Silverton, The" by C. W. McCall
15. "Six Wheel Driver" by The Easy Riders
16. "Six-Five Special" by Don Lang & His Frantic Five
17. "Slow Moving Freight Train" by Hugh Moffatt
18. "Slow Train" by Flanders & Swann
19. "Slow Train" by Soul Stirrers
20. "Slow Train" by The Staple Singers
21. "Smoke Along the Track" by Dwight Yoakim
22. "Smoke Along the Track" by Emmylou Harris
23. "Something About Trains" by Jane Siberry
24. "Southbound" by Flatt & Scruggs
25. "Soul Train" by The Manhattans
26. "Soul Train" by The Three Degrees
27. "Soul Train" by Mary Wells
28. "Southbound" by Doc Watson
29. "Southbound Train" by Big Bill Broonzy
30. "Southbound Train" by Crosby, Stills & Nash
31. "Southern Cannonball" by Jimmie Rodgers
32. "Southern Pacific" by John Scofield
33. "Southern Pacific" by Neil Young
34. "Spanish Train" by Chris DeBurgh
35. "Spell of a Train" by Ricochet
36. "Spike Driver Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt
37. "Spikedriver Blues" by Doc Watson
38. "Starlight on the Rails" by Flatt & Scruggs
39. "Starlight on the Rails" by Utah Phillips
40. "Station to Station" by David Bowie
41. "Steam" by Johnny Horton
42. "Steam Engine Polka" by Johann Strauss
43. "Steam Engine" by Monkees
44. "Steel Drivin Man" by Denzel Washington
45. "Steel Drivin Man" by Buddy Merrill
46. "Steel Rails" by Alison Krauss
47. "Stop and Look for the Train" by Andrew Jenkins
48. "Stop That Train" by The Meters
49. "Stop That Train" by The Wailers
50. "Strangers on a Train" by New Riders of the Purple Sage
51. "Streamlined Cannonball" by Roy Acuff
52. "Streamlined Cannonball" by Esco Hankins
53. "Streamlined Cannonball" by Mac Wiseman
54. "Streamlined Cannonball" by Doc Watson
55. "Subway Joe" by Joe Bataan
56. "Subways"

T

1. "Take the 'A' Train" by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
2. "Take the 'A' Train" by Duke Ellington / Billy Strayhorn
3. "Taking Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
4. "Talkin' John Henry" by Taj Mahal
5. "Tennesse Central No. 9" by Roy Acuff
6. "Terror Train" by Demons & Wizards
7. "Texas Silver Zephyr" by Red Steagall
8. "Texas, 1947" by Johnny Cash
9. "Texas, 1947" by Guy Clark
10. "That Memphis Train" by Grandpa Jones
11. "That Old Train Whistle" by Smothers Brothers
12. "That Train" by Jerry Butler
13. "There's a Train" by Holmes Brothers
14. "This City Never Sleeps" by The Eurhythmics
15. "Third Class Wait Here" by Slim Dusty
16. "This Train" by Tommy Tate
17. "This Train" by Woody Guthrie
18. "This Train Revisited" by Indigo Girls
19. "This Train's a Clear Train" by Joe Glazer
20. "Throw Mama from the Train" by Patti Page
21. "To Morrow"
22. "To Stop the Train"
23. "Tolono" by Bruce Utah Phillips
24. "Tons of Steel" by Grateful Dead
25. "Train" by Blue Rodeo
26. "Train, The" by Lord Buckley
27. "Train" by Charles Jackson
28. "Train 45" by Grayson and Whitter
29. "Train 45" by Jimmy Martin
30. "Train 45" by the Stanley Brothers
31. "Train 45" by Mac Wiseman
32. "Train A-Travelin'" by Bob Dylan
33. "Train Bound for Glory Land" by Yonder Mountain String Band
34. "Train Carrying Jimmie Rodgers Home, The" by Greg Brown
35. "Time between Trains" by Susan Werner
36. "Train No. 1262" by Flatt & Scruggs
37. "Train Collector, The"
38. "Train from Kansas City" by The Shangri-Las
39. "Train Home" by Chris Smither
40. "Train in the Distance" by Paul Simon
41. "Train in the Hollow" by The Country Gentlemen
42. "Train Is Coming" by Ken Boothe
43. "Train Is Gone" by Michael Bloomfield
44. "Train Keep on Movin'" by The 5th Dimension
45. "Train Kept a Rollin" by Aerosmith
46. "Train Kept a Rollin', The" by Tiny Bradshaw
47. "Train Kept a Rollin" by Yardbirds
48. "Train Leaves Here This Morning" by Eagles
49. "Train Long-Suffering" Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
50. "Train Of Consequences" by Megadeth
51. "Train of Love" by Johnny Cash
52. "Train of Love" by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
53. "Train of Love" by Willie Hutch
54. "Train on the Island"
55. "Train Round the Bend" by The Velvet Underground
56. "Train Song" by Vashti Bunyan
57. "Train Song" by Nick Cave
58. "Train Song" by Eliza Carthy
59. "Train Song" by Holmes Brothers
60. "Train Song" by Murray McLauchlan
61. "Train Song" by Gram Parsons
62. "Train Song" by Dick Siegel
63. "Train Song" by Tom Waits
64. "Train Songs" by Tom T. & Dixie Hall
65. "Train That Carried My Girl from Town, The"
66. "Train Time Blues" by Tampa Red
67. "Train to Frisco"
68. "Train to Skaville" by Boney M.
69. "Train to Texas" by David Reo
70. "Train Whistle Blues" by Steve Forbert
71. "Train Whistle Blues" by Jimmie Rodgers
72. "Train Wreck" by Sarah McLachlan
73. "Train, Train" by Blackfoot
74. "Train, Train" by Dolly Parton
75. "Trains" by Ian Anderson
76. "Trains" by Porcupine Tree
77. "Trains" by Al Stewart
78. "Trains and Boats and Planes" by Dionne Warwick
79. "Trains Don't Run from Nashville" by Kate Campbell
80. "Trains Make Me Lonesome" by George Strait
81. "Trains of No Return" by Ofra Haza
82. "Trains, Tracks and Travel" by Hank Snow
83. "Trainwreck of Emotion" by Del McCoury
84. "Trainwreck of Emotion" by Lorrie Morgan
85. "Trans Europe Express" by Kraftwerk
86. "Transit Ride" by Guru
87. "Traintime" by Cream
88. "Trolley Song"
89. "Trouble Funk Express" by Trouble Funk
90. "True and Trembling Brakeman, The"
91. "Trusty Lariet"
92. "Tweed & Lismore" by Ned McElligott
93. "Two Trains Running" by Paul Butterfield Blues Band
94. "Two Trains Running" by Little Feat

U

1. "Up On the CP Line"
2. "UP Song" by UP Country Western Band

V

1. "Valve Oil" by Johnny Horton
2. "View (East from the Top of the Riggs Road/B&O Trestle)" by John Fahey

W

1. "Wabash Cannonball" by Roy Acuff
2. "Wabash Cannonball" by Chet Atkins
3. "Wabash Cannonball" by The Carter Family
4. "Wabash Cannonball" by Johnny Cash
5. "Wabash Cannonball" by The Chieftains
6. "Wabash Cannonball" by The Limeliters
7. "Wabash Cannonball" by Utah Phillips
8. "Wabash Cannonball" by Doc Watson
9. "Waiting at the Station" by Aaron Neville
10. "Waiting for a Train" by Roy Acuff
11. "Waiting for a Train" by Johnny Cash
12. "Waiting for a Train" by Flash and the Pan
13. "Waiting for a Train" by Jerry Lee Lewis
14. "Waiting for a Train" by Jim Reeves
15. "Waiting for a Train" by Jimmie Rodgers
16. "Waiting for a Train" by Hank Snow
17. "Waiting for the B Train" by Christine Lavin
18. "Waiting on a Train" by Steve Forbert
19. "Walking Down a Railroad Line" by Woody Guthrie
20. "Walkin Holes in My Shoes" by Boxcar Willie
21. "Way Out in Idaho" by Rosalie Sorrels
22. "West End Blues" by Duke Ellington
23. "Westbound Train" by Dennis Brown
24. "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" by The Monkees
25. "When Love Comes to Town" by B.B. King
26. "When the Golden Train Comes Down" by Sons of the Pioneers
27. "Whistle of the Gravy Train" by Bobby Grove
28. "Whistle Stop" by Louis Prima
29. "White Freightliner Blues" by Steve Earle
30. "White Freightliner Blues" by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
31. "White Freightliner Blues" by Townes Van Zandt
32. "Who Buried Cedar Hill"
33. "Will There Be Any Freight Trains in Heaven" by Jimmy Rogers
34. "Will There Be Any Freight Trains In Heaven" by Merle Haggard
35. "Will There Be Any Freight Trains in Heaven" by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris & Linda Rondstat
36. "Won't Be Long" by Aretha Franklin
37. "Won't You Come Home Bill Baily"
38. "Working on the Railway" by Bill Houston
39. "Worried Man Blues" by The Carter Family
40. "Worried Man Blues" by Cisco Houston
41. "Wreck of the 1262" by Doc Watson
42. "Wreck of the 1262" by Curley Fox and Texas Ruby
43. "Wreck of the 252"
44. "Wreck of the FFV"
45. "Wreck of the L&N" by Phipps Family
46. "Wreck of the Number Nine" by Hank Snow
47. "Wreck of the Number Nine" by Rosalie Sorrels
48. "Wreck of the Old 49" by Uncle Shelby
49. "Wreck of the Old 97" by Johnny Cash
50. "Wreck of the Old 97" by Vernon Dalhart
51. "Wreck of the Old 97" by Flatt & Scruggs
52. "Wreck of the Old 97" by Woody Guthrie
53. "Wreck of the Old 97" by Hank Snow
54. "Wreck of the Old 97" by Mac Wiseman
55. "Wreck of the Royal Palm" by Joe Glazer
56. "Wreck of the Royal Palm Express" by Vernon Dalhart
57. "Wreck of the Royal Palm Express" by Andrew Jenkins

That great monster, the Athanasian Creed

Yesterday we, in small town North Carolina, recited a creed, many centuries old, couched in obscure, technical, theological language well beyond the grasp of most, if not all in attendance. The focus of the creed, the dogmatic, precise nature of trinitarian belief, is not a burning topic for Christians today. I doubt anyone would have complained if we had omitted it.

And, I must admit, I wondered, as we labored though the "not three almighties but one almighties" and on and on, why are we doing this? What is the point? No one, so it seemed, was getting anything out of this. Wouldn't it be easier to simply forget the Athanasian Creed existed? Could we not get along just as well with the Nicene and the Apostles, pretty technical themselves relative to much of what goes on in churches in America these days?

But by dumping the Athanasian Creed, we would lose more than we would gain. It would be like chopping off those ten foot beams which lift up a house in a hurricane zone. No one bothers to understand them or spend much time with them but they keep the house afloat. The Athanasian Creed does the same. Our theological house is built on the foundations of that creed, on the Biblical theology it explains and confesses. Who God has revealed himself to be affects every doctrine we teach from creation to grace alone to eternal life. With out that foundation we would soon drift. Get the doctrine of God wrong and no doctrine turns out correct. Get it right and at least the rest of the theological house has a chance of standing.

Besides, the thought of losing the Athanasian creed made me sad. A Trinity Sunday without that great monster we must push through our mouths and say out loud would perhaps be easier, nicer, it would fit in better. But in the end it wouldn't be much of a Trinity Sunday. If all we are doing is preserving this creed for our children or grandchildren or those who come after them, it is enough. Trinity Sunday, then, has done its job.

The greatest train song ever

Wreck of the Old 97... a folk ballad ... sung here in the classic 1924 version by Vernon Dalhart.



Here is the story of the train wreck via Wikipedia:

The "Old 97", a Southern Railway train officially known as the Fast Mail, was en route from Monroe, Virginia to Spencer, North Carolina when it left the track at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia on September 27, 1903. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad ...

The wreck of Old 97 occurred when the engineer (driver), Joseph A. ("Steve") Broadey, at the controls of engine number 1102 (a ten wheeler built by Baldwin), was operating the train at high speed in order to stay on schedule and arrive at Spencer on time (Old 97 had a reputation for never being late).

Engineer Broadey and two firemen boarded the train at Washington, farther up the line from Spencer, the second fireman being assigned to assist in maintaining the steam pressure at its maximum so the train would not lose too much speed on ascending grades.[1] The train was substantially behind schedule upon leaving Washington and was one hour late upon arriving at Monroe.

At Monroe, Broadey was instructed to get the Fast Mail to Spencer, 166 miles distant, on time. The scheduled running time from Monroe to Spencer was four hours, fifteen minutes, an average speed of approximately 39 mph (62.4 km/h). In order to make up the one hour delay, the train's average speed would have to be at least 51 mph (82 km/h). Broadey was ordered to maintain speed through Franklin Junction, an intermediate stop normally made during the run.

The route between Monroe and Spencer was rolling terrain and there were numerous danger points due to the combination of grades and tight radius curves. Signs were posted to warn engineers to watch their speed. However, in his quest to stay on time, engineer Broadey rapidly descended a heavy grade that ended at the 75-foot high Stillhouse Trestle, which spanned Cherrystone Creek. He was unable to sufficiently reduce speed as he approached the curve leading into the trestle, causing the entire train to derail and plunge into the ravine below. Nine people were killed, including the locomotive crew and a number of clerks in the mail car coupled between the tender and the rest of the train.

The Southern Railway placed blame for the wreck on engineer Broadey, disavowing that he had been ordered run as fast as possible to maintain the schedule. The railroad also claimed he descended the grade leading to Stillhouse Trestle at a speed of more than 70 mph (112 km/h). Several eyewitnesses to the wreck, however, stated that the speed was probably around 50 mph (80 km/h). In all likelihood, the railroad was at least partially to blame, as they had a lucrative contract with the U.S. Post Office to haul mail (hence the train's name), the contract including a penalty clause for each minute the train was late into Spencer. It is probably safe to conclude that the engineers piloting the Fast Mail were always under pressure to stay on time so the railroad would not be penalized for late mail delivery.


The lyrics (though Dalhart's version doesn't include all these words):

On one cloudless morning I stood on the mountain,
Just watching the smoke from below,
It was coming from a tall, slim smokestack
Way down on the Southern railroad.

It was 97, the fastest train
Ever ran the Southern line,
All the freight trains and passengers take the side for 97,
For she's bound to be at stations on time.

They gave him his orders at Monroe, Virginia,
Saying, "Stevie, you're way behind time.
This is not 38, but it's Old 97,
You must put her into Spencer on time."

He looked 'round and said to his black greasy fireman,
"Just shovel in a little more coal,
And when I cross that old White Oak Mountain
You can just watch Old 97 roll."

It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville,
And the lie was a three-mile grade,
It was on that grade that he lost his air brakes,
And you see what a jump that she made.

He was going down the grade making 90 miles an hour,
When his whistle began to scream,
He was found in that wreck with his hand on the throttle,
He was scalded to death by the steam.

Did she ever pull in? No, she never pulled in,
And at 1:45 he was due,
For hours and hours has the switchman been waiting
For that fast mail that never pulled through.

Did she ever pull in? No, she never pulled in,
And that poor boy must be dead.
Oh, yonder he lays on the railroad track
With the cart wheels over his head.

97, she was the fastest train
That the South had ever seen,
But she run so fast on that Sunday morning
That the death score was numbered 14.

Now, ladies, you must take warning,
From this time now and on.
Never speak harsh words to your true loving husband.
He may leave you and never return.