The Hell-Bound Train
Tom Gray law down on the barroom floor.
Having drunk so much he could drink no more.
So he fell asleep with a trouble brain
And dreamt he rode on the Hell-Bound Train.
The engine with blood was red and damp,
And brilliantly lit with a brinstone lamp,
For fuel an imp was shoveling bones,
While the furnace rang with a thousand groans.
The boiler was filled with larger beer,
And the Devil himself was the engineer.
The passengers made such a motley crew,
Church members, athiest, Gentile and Jew.
Rich men in broadcloth and beggars in rags,
Handsome young ladies and whithered old hags.
Yellow and black men, red, brown and white,
All chained together! What a terrible sight!
The train dashed on at an awful pace,
And the hot wind scorched their hands and face.
Wilder and wilder the country grew,
And faster and faster the engine flew.
Louder and louder the thunders crashed,
And brighter and brighter the lightning flashed.
Hotter and hotter the air became,
So clothes were burned off each quivering frame.
Now in the distance arose such a yell,
“Ha! Ha!” croaked the Devil to stop the train.
But he capered about and sang in his glee,
And laughed and joked at their agony.
“My faithful friends, you have done my work,
And the Devil can never a pay-day shirk.
You have bullied the weak and robbed the poor,
And the starving brother turned from your door.
You have laid up gold where the canker rusts,
And given free vent to fleshly lusts.
You have justice scorned and corruption sown,
And trampled the laws of nature down.
You have drunk and rioted, murdered and lied,
And mocked at God in your Hell-born pride.
You have paid full fair, so I’ll carry you thru,
For it’s only just, you should get your due.
Why, the laborer always expects his hire,
So I’ll land you safe in the Lake of Fire,
Where your flesh shall roast in flames that roar,
And my imps torment you forever more”.
Then Tom awoke with an agonized cry.
Clothes soaken in sweat and hair standing high.
And he prayed as he never prayed before,
To be saved from drink’s satanic power.
And his vows and prayers were not in vain,
For he never more rode on the Hell-Bound Train.
Author Unknown