Trains {1988}
Plasterscene Replicas Lyrics

In the sapling years of the post war world
In the early years after the war

In an English market town
In a small town in England

I do believe we traveled in schoolboy blue
I think we were wearing blue school uniforms

The cap upon the crown
The cap on top of our heads

Books on knee
Books on our laps

Our faces pressed against the dusty railway carriage panes
We were leaning against the train windows which were covered in dust

As all our lives went rolling on the clicking wheels of trains
As our lives moved forward on the train

The school years passed like eternity
It felt like the school years lasted forever

And at last were left behind
And finally, we left school

And it seemed the city was calling me
I felt like the city was calling me

To see what I might find
To explore and discover new things

Almost grown, I stood before horizons made of dreams
I was almost an adult and I had big dreams for my future

I think I stole a kiss or two while rolling on the clicking wheels of trains
I believe I kissed someone while on a train

All our lives were a whistle stop affair
Our lives were like brief stops on a train journey

No ties or chains
We were free and had no obligations

Throwing words like fireworks in the air
We were using words in an exciting and explosive way

Not much remains
Not much is left or remembered

A photograph in your memory
A memory that is captured like a photograph in your mind

Through the coloured lens of time
Through the perspective of time and memory

All our lives were just a smudge of smoke against the sky
Our lives were brief and fleeting like smoke in the sky

The silver rails spread far and wide
The train tracks stretched for long distances

Through the nineteenth century
During the 1800s

Some straight and true, some serpentine
Some tracks were straight and others were winding like a snake

From the cities to the sea
From the urban areas to the coast

And out of sight
Not visible or noticeable

Of those who rode in style there worked the military mind
The military strategists planned their operations without being seen by the public

On through the night to plot and chart the twisting paths of trains
They worked throughout the night to plan and track the movements of trains

On the day they buried Jean Juarez
On the day Jean Juarez was buried

World War One broke free
World War One started

Like an angry river overflowing
Like a river that bursts through its banks with anger

Its banks impatiently
With impatience and urgency

While mile on mile
For many miles

The soldiers filled the railway stations arteries and veins
The soldiers crowded the train stations like blood flows through veins and arteries

I see them now go laughing on the clicking wheels of trains trains
I can picture them laughing and happy as they rode the trains

Rolling off to the front
Going towards the front line of battle

Across the narrow Russian gauge
On a narrow Russian train track

Weeks turn into months
Weeks passed by and turned into months

And the enthusiasm wanes
And their enthusiasm decreases

Sacrifices in seas of mud, and still you don't know why
Sacrifices made in the terrible conditions of war and without knowing why it was necessary

All their lives are just a puff of smoke against the sky
Their lives were short and impermanent like a puff of smoke in the sky

Then came surrender, then came the peace
Then the war ended and peace was declared

Then revolution out of the east
Then a revolution happened in the Eastern part of the world

Then came the crash, then came the tears
Then came an economic crash followed by sadness

Then came the thirties, the nightmare years
The 1930s were a difficult time

Then came the same thing over again
Then history repeated itself

Mad as the moon
Crazy like the moon

That watches over the plain
That looks over the open countryside

Oh, driven insane
Oh, made crazy

But oh what kind of trains are these
What kind of trains are these?

That I never saw before
That I have never seen before

Snatching up the refugees
Picking up the refugees

From the ghettos of the war
From the war ghettos

To stand confused
To stand in a state of confusion

With all their worldly goods, beneath the watching guard's disdain
With all their possessions and belongings, under the eyes of the disapproving guard

As young and old go rolling on the clicking wheels of trains
As the young and old ride on the train

And the driver only does this job
And the driver only performs this duty

With vodka in his coat
With a bottle of vodka in his coat

And he turns around and he makes a sign
And he turns around and signals something

With his hand across his throat
Using his hand to touch his throat

For days on end
For many consecutive days

Through sun and snow, the destination still remains the same
In any weather, the train's destination does not change

For those who ride with death above the clicking wheels of trains
For those who ride the train with a constant threat of danger

What became of the innocence
What happened to our childlike innocence

They had in childhood games
We had during childhood games

Painted red or blue
Red or blue in color

When I was young they all had names
When I was young, everything had a name

Who'll remember the ones who only rode in them to die
Who will remember the people who rode the trains only to die

All their lives are just a smudge of smoke against the sky
Their lives were brief and fleeting like a smudge of smoke in the sky

Now forty years have come and gone
Forty years have passed

And I'm far away from there
And I am far from that place

And I ride the Amtrak from New York City
And I ride the Amtrak train from New York City

To Philadelphia
To the city of Philadelphia

And there's a man to bring you food and drink
And there's a worker who brings food and drinks to passengers

And sometimes passengers exchange
And sometimes passengers talk to each other

A smile or two rolling on the humming wheels
Exchanging a few smiles while riding on the smooth-rolling train wheels

But I can't tell you if it's them
But I am not sure if it's the other passengers

Or if it's only me
Or if I just imagine it

But I believe when they look outside
But I think that when they look out the window

They don't see what I see
They don't see what I see

Over there
Over in that direction

Beyond the trees it seems that I can just make out the stained
Through the trees, I can see something that appears to be stained

Fields of Poland calling out to all the passing trains
The fields of Poland seem to be calling out to the passing trains

I suppose that there's nothing
I guess that there is nothing

In this life remains the same
In this life, nothing stays the same

Everything is governed
Everything is controlled or influenced

By the losses and the gains
By what is gained and what is lost

Still sometimes I get caught up in the past I can't say why
Sometimes I get stuck in the past and I don't know why

All our lives are just a smudge of smoke
Our lives are short and fleeting like a puff of smoke

Or just a breath of wind against the sky
Or like a gust of wind against the sky