Downbound Train
Bruce Springsteen
Originally recorded in 1982 for the Nebraska Album, this solo version is a haunting ballad that is almost the
same as the rocking version [some lyrical differences] recorded for the Born In The U.S.. album later that
year.
I had a job, I had a girl
I had something going mister in this world
I got laid off down at the auto yard
Our love went bad, times got hard
Now I work down at the carwash
Where all it does is rain
Sometimes you feel like you're a rider, baby, on a downbound train
She just said "Joe I gotta go
We had it once we ain't got it any more"
She packed her bags left me behind
She bought a ticket on the Central Line
Nights as I sleep, I still hear the whistle whining
I feel her soft kiss in the misty morning rain
Sometimes don't you feel like you're a rider, baby, on a downbound train
/ / / /
Hahhhhhh [repeat as chords go on]
Last night I heard her voice
You were crying, crying, you were so alone
You said your love had never died
And you were waiting for me at home
Well I put on my jacket, I ran through the woods
I ran till I thought my chest would explode
There in the clearing, beyond the highway
In the moonlight, our wedding house shone
I rushed through the yard, I burst through the front door
And then up the stairs I climbed
The room was dark, our bed was empty
And then I heard that long whistle whine
And then I dropped to my knees, hung my head and cried
Well now I swing a sledge hammer on a railroad gang
Knocking down them cross ties, working in the rain
Sometimes don't it feel like you're a rider, baby, on a downbound train
/ / / /
/ / / / / [repeat until end]
Hahhhhhh [this part is sung along with the above chords]
Hoooo hoo-hoo-hoo
Hahhh hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
Hoooo hoo-hoo-hoo