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The Moorland Train

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(A re-post but I'm justifying it in view of the Flying Scotsman' visit next week)

 

I hear the train guard’s whistle

The slamming of the doors

The fireman stokes the furnace

For the haul across the moors;

The driver lets some steam off

And sees the train guard’s flag

Then gets those big wheels turning

For the Goathland Drag.

 

You’re leaning from the window

As the platform eases by

There’s thunder ringing in your ears

There’s cinder in your eye;

The sun beats down from Heaven

The clouds then burst with rain;

You’ll witness all four seasons

As you ride the Moorland Train.

 

You smell the smoke and oil

You close your eyes and then

Forget the years of passage

And your twelve years old again;

The sun beats down from Heaven

The clouds then burst with rain;

You’ll witness all four seasons

As you ride the Moorland Train.

 

She’s heaving up the incline

Just hear those pistons sing

We’re due next stop in Goathland

Then on to Pickering;

The sun beats down from Heaven

The clouds then burst with rain;

You’ll witness all four seasons

As you ride the Moorland Train.

◄ YGGDRASIL

DAZ ►

Comments

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John Coopey

Tue 8th Mar 2016 23:34

I've never been on the Watercress Line, Ray. We holiday a fair bit on the Hants/Dorset border and we've been on the Swanage Railway a few times.
Our Gert and me have been shareholders in the NYMR for about 25 years which gets us a free ride each year. They don't exactly doff their caps when they see us!

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raypool

Tue 8th Mar 2016 20:34

Great that you live up north John and enjoy the wilds that make up the background - I have to make do with the Watercress line in Hampshire; still worth the £100 footplate ride, though. Nice rolling style with a song structure. I love railway poetry, tha' knows.

Ray

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John Coopey

Tue 8th Mar 2016 17:43

Yes indeed, MC. Fabulous growl of a voice that other JC. I agree about the hiccup in rhythm.

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M.C. Newberry

Tue 8th Mar 2016 16:59

The other JC loved his trains too! I have the CD of an LP
I bought years ago by the Man in Black: Ride This Train.
Great use of a classic Cash tune here by WOL's very own
JC.
I can't agree with AW's suggested line "The driver lets off
some steam" - a bit awkward in rhythm for the song line,
but I'd change the second line to - "When he sees the train guard's flag".

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John Coopey

Tue 8th Mar 2016 14:53

No enthusiasm for steam trains, Harry? You must have been one of the girls that played with dolls!
The tune is entirely stolen; it's Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash.

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Harry O'Neill

Tue 8th Mar 2016 13:50

John,
This miserable old Git could never get enthusiastic about steam trains (it was those cinders)

Mind, as a miserable young twelve year old I didn`t even like cowboy films (takes all kinds)

I like that `hurry up` tune you picked for it - perfect!

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John Coopey

Mon 7th Mar 2016 20:11

Thanks, Adam. You can no doubt hear the dead hand of Johnny Cash in the tune (Folsom Prison Blues).
I think the second line you suggest improves mine but I prefer my first one as it keeps the iambic rhythm intact.
Many thanks for your kind comments.

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Adam Whitworth

Mon 7th Mar 2016 19:47

I love this!

"...As the platform eases by"
is particularly charming.

Would it be too obvious to say

' The driver lets off some steam
He's seen the train guard flag '

Great poem for a great train.

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