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Last Town on the Line

from Live at The Royal Room by Nancy K Dillon

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A train song written for my great-grandfather, Asa Dillon.

lyrics

Last Town On The Line
©Nancy K. Dillon 2009

Daddy's granddaddy was a trainman
Missouri-Pacific was his line
Asa started working for the union
To make a better life, make a better life,
Make a better life for the time.

'Cause life was hard for a trainman
Eighteen hours, a penny in your pocket
Back-breaking, hard-driving work, work, work
Moving that corn, moving that coal,
Gotta find a dollar, gonna patch this hole, uh-huh.

CHO: Now here I am living in the last town
Last town on the line
Nobody's going any further
It's a quiet place here, Population One
In the last town, the last town on the line.

How many hours in that train car?
How many miles did he ride?
How many nights in how many towns?
Supper by himself, missing his family and
Sweet Catherine by his side.

But there was something important he believed in
Something essential was at stake
What would Asa think if he could see it all now?
Look at what a mess, could have done better,
Lord, what a mess we can make.

Bridge: Did he happen onto Woody in a box car?
Did they talk about life and have a smoke?
Did Woody sing a couple songs before he traveled on?
My daddy's granddaddy might've fed him for a smile and a joke.

credits

from Live at The Royal Room, track released September 16, 2017
All songs written by Nancy K. Dillon (BMI) except "Annabelle" written by Nancy K. Dillon (Rose Rock Music BMI, Admin SongTrust) & John Hadley (Hadley Six Music BMI, Admin by Sony, ATV, BMI

Performers:
Nancy K. Dillon (vocals/guitar)
Lucien La Motte (electric guitar)

Engineered by Kyle Mooney (Royal Room, Seattle)

Mixed and Mastered by Ian Lang (Nursery Studios, Alsager, UK)

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Nancy K Dillon Seattle, Washington

On her albums, Nancy K. Dillon maps the road West; the dusty highways that conjure up images like Kerouac's road trips, traveling dustbowl carnivals, and free-spirited 70s hipsters. Inspired by Oklahoma & Texas troubadours Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Kevin Welch, Dillon's songs are short stories about characters that populate true American life. ... more

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