Dead Songs in Depth

    
Tons Of Steel
w&m: Mydland
AGDL: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/tons.htm
LASF: http://www.whitegum.com/songfile/TONSOFST.HTM
  

    
Tons Of Steel 
Lyrics: Brent Mydland
Music: Brent Mydland

Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

I know these rails we're on like I know my lady's smile
Re-see a dozen dreams in every passing mile
Can't begin to count the trips
That she and I have made
But I wish I had a dollar
For each time we both been down this grade

Chorus
Nine hundred thousand tons of steel
Made to roll
Her brakes don't work and this grade's so steep
Her engine's sure to blow
Nine hundred thousand tons of steel
Out of control
She's more a roller-coaster than the train I used to know

It's one hell of an understatement to say she can get mean
She's temperamental, more a bitch than a machine
She wasn't built to travel at
The speed a rumour flies
These wheels are bound to jump the tracks
Before they burn the ties

[chorus]

Murphy's sure outdone himself to pick this stretch of track
I can only hope my luck is riding in the back
Well I have prayed to God
This ain't the day we meet
I've done about everything
But try dragging my feet

[chorus]

Oo, oo, I wanna go down slow
Oo, oo, oo, oo, oo
Nine hundred thousand tons of steel
Out of control
She's more a roller coaster than the train I used to know
  

    
Received this interesting note today.

Hi David- 

My name is Andy Leahy, from Massachusetts. I was doing some reading
about abandoned railroads, & came across the Crown King Branch, in
AZ. It was a very steep grade that was called the Impossible
Railroad, because people didn't think it could be built. It was
built by a man named Frank Murphy. 

"Murphy's sure outdone himself to pick this stretch of track ..." 

"Her brakes don't work & this grades so steep" 

"But I wish I had a dollar for each time we both been down this
grade " 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_King_Branch

I have to believe it's not a coincidence that Brent was writing
those lyrics. Let me know what you think! 

Thanks! Be well 

Andy 
  

    
!!!
  

    
Call me skeptical.
  

    
Skepticism is good. 
  

    
seems like a helluva coincidence. Maybe Brent was one of those
train-obsessed little boys.
  

    

Occam's razor suggests that the Murphy in the song is the Murphy of Murphy's
Law.
  

    
True, but it's so fun to have these alternative possibilities--part
of the premise of the Annotated Lyrics project form day one. Keep
the weird theories coming!
  

    
Right! And, if they are repeated enough, they can even attain
factuality.
  

    
Attain factuality!