The sun was a half dollar coin in the November sky

The porter, he helped me to drag my old suitcase inside

My friends shook their heads and said it was faster to fly

But every compatriot climbing on after had all made the same choice as mine

I’m on the night train, see this land for a change

Gardens in the backyards, a far mountain range

I’m taking my time, I’ll stay on this line to the end of the track

and watch the sun rise, maybe two or three times before I come back

From breadlines to cafes, the buildings have worn over time

For every American dreamer, a mountain to climb

Orchards and fields and the harvest from April to frost

Men forging steel into bridges their children would cross

The rusty old combines and factories rose from the past

And history fell in the shadows that each of them cast

From Memphis to Denver I thought of my grandmother’s hands

Pressing that fifty cent piece in my palm saying “Take this as far as you can”

I’m on the night train, see this land for a change

Gardens in the backyards, a far mountain range

I’m taking my time, I’ll stay on this line to the end of the track

And watch the sun rise, maybe two or three times before I come back

My helpless uncertainty, let it slide off of me

Hope in the city streets shiny and hungry

One with each other, the daughters the mothers

The good and the evil are just regular people

Deep down I know I’m still fanning the flames just by

Trying to find the right person to blame

Cause it’s easier putting a face to your fear than a name

The half

dollar coin in the sky shines with Kennedy’s call

A cold war continues but now it’s inside of us all

Silence surrounds us, we’re waiting for morning to come

The train is still rolling, the bridge is still holding, and there is still work to be done

I’m on the night train, the skyline in sight

We’re passing the salvage yard, into the morning light

I’m taking my time, this country of mine, we’ll get it on track

We’ll watch the sun rise maybe two or three times as we come back

We’ll watch the sun rise maybe two or three times as we come back