Brakeman
Nathaniel Rateliff Lyrics

The lyrics to Nathaniel Rateliff's song "Brakeman" reflect the struggles and hardships of a laborer, specifically a brakeman, who works on trains to control their speed and ensure safe passage. The singer is proud of his work and sees it as a calling, describing himself as the "sharpest of all them." However, he also recognizes the toll that this work takes on him, physically and mentally. He describes himself as a "bum rush," which could refer to a sudden and overwhelming feeling of fatigue, or perhaps to the way he throws himself into his work without regard for his own well-being. He also mentions being a "coal man," a job that involves the tough and dirty work of shoveling coal into the engine's firebox.

The lines "Hoping in time it won't be swift enough / And they'll carry us away" suggest a desire for something more than the daily grind of manual labor, an escape from a life of hardship and struggle. The repetition of the phrase "they'll carry us away" implies that the singer is waiting for some outside force, some benevolent power, to intervene and lift him out of his difficult circumstances. At the same time, he recognizes that this may never happen, and he must continue to work and endure the cold, the physical strain, and the isolation that come with his job.

The last verses of the song are somewhat cryptic, but they seem to suggest a personal struggle or confrontation that the singer is facing. He asks someone to "take your _______? take your fall, laying your trap for me," though we're not sure who or what he's referring to. He also talks about removing a wig from his head, perhaps a metaphor for a persona or identity that he no longer needs or wants. The final lines, "It runs back, straight and true / and leaving no (mark?)" could be interpreted as a victory or release, a sign that the singer has shed something that was holding him back and can now move forward unencumbered.