The Waking Eyes is a rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba and Steinbach, Manit… Read Full Bio ↴The Waking Eyes is a rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba and Steinbach, Manitoba. Its current members are Rusty Matyas, Matt Peters, Steve Senkiw and Joey Penner.

The band formed after the break-up of two other Manitoba bands, The Pets from Steinbach, and Novillero from Winnipeg. In 2005 the group was nominated for a Juno Award for New Group of the Year but lost to Alexisonfire.

On A Train
The Waking Eyes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here smokin' on a train
Leanin' on the pain
'Cause all I have is my own hard luck
Yeah I took off
Had to get away
I didn't want to pay a penance to all the cold hard luck

Somehow I knew your intention was to

Wrap me up around and around
Lock me away
So I just put my foot on the ground
I walked away

No way to tell me when
I screw it up again
Falling victim to my hard luck
Yeah I was blind
I just couldn't find
Your silhouette behind the specter of all my hard luck again

Somehow I knew your intention was to
Wrap me up around and around
Lock me away
So I just put my foot on the ground
I walked away

I'm leavin' babe
To go back to my place
Get out of the rat race
Those at the table are ready and able
To put something on it
It better be chronic
Watchin' the night slip away

Wrap me up around and around
Lock me away

Wrap me up around and around
Lock me away
So I just put my foot on the ground
I walked away

Wrap me up around and around
Just lock me away
Wrap me up around and around
I walked away

So I'm leavin' on a train

Overall Meaning

The Waking Eye's song "On a Train" is a mostly upbeat classic rock-inspired tune with lyrics that touch on themes of escape, hard luck, and toxic relationships. In the opening lines, the singer is smoking on a train and leaning on the pain of their own hard luck. They express a need to escape the penance owed to all the cold hard luck in their life. It's clear that the singer is attempting to leave behind something detrimental, possibly a relationship that has caused them pain.

The chorus of the song repeats the same lines, "Somehow I knew your intention was to wrap me up around and around, lock me away, so I just put my foot on the ground, I walked away." The singer is aware that they were headed down a path of being wrapped up in a toxic relationship, but they found the strength to walk away from it. They couldn't be further away, which is why they mention being on a train and heading back to their own place to get out of the rat race.

Overall, "On a Train" is a song about breaking free from toxic relationships, and it's drenched in classic rock-style guitar riffs and drumbeats. While the track remains relatively upbeat, it does hint towards underlying pain and trauma. It's an anthem for those who are looking to leave something toxic behind but who still need a little push of confidence to walk away for good.

Line by Line Meaning

Here smokin' on a train
I am smoking on a train, probably trying to cope with some emotional pain

Leanin' on the pain
The pain is what's holding me up, it's the only thing I can rely on

'Cause all I have is my own hard luck
I don't have much in life, bad luck seems to follow me around

Yeah I took off
I left, I had to escape my problems and my bad luck

Had to get away
Leaving was the only option for me to find some peace

I didn't want to pay a penance to all the cold hard luck
I didn't want to keep suffering from the bad luck that seems to be following me and pay the price for it

Somehow I knew your intention was to
I had a feeling that you wanted to

Wrap me up around and around
Trap me and not let me go

Lock me away
Imprison me

So I just put my foot on the ground
I decided to stand my ground and take control of my life

I walked away
I left the situation and moved on

No way to tell me when
There's no one to warn me when

I screw it up again
I make the same mistakes over and over again

Falling victim to my hard luck
Being affected by my own bad luck again

Yeah I was blind
I couldn't see the situation clearly

I just couldn't find
I couldn't figure out

Your silhouette behind the specter of all my hard luck again
You were there in the background, hidden behind my bad luck

I'm leavin' babe
I am leaving, my dear