Story Behind The Song
Cindy got called out to an industrial part of SF one day to have a heart to heart with a friend who felt done wrong. They spent hours hiking the hills and looking at the water sorting out their troubles. When she left she was driving through the train and ship yards of old San Francisco thinking about musical community, her train-hopping friends, and how they really were all just trying to find their own way to make a home together, where ever they were. She happened to also be on her way to band practice. While she drove she jotted down lyric notes and hummed a melody line into her phone. As soon as she arrived in Oakland her and Boylamayka started flushing out the song and it was written in less than an hour. It is still one of the band's favorite songs that they've ever written.
Song Description
Close friends travel the train and ship yards of a sea-port city making bonfires and singing songs together. While they hang out they realize that even though their lives are hard their friendship and community makes these times magical and beautiful.
Song Length |
3:38 |
Genre |
Country - Americana, Country - Cowboy |
Tempo |
Medium Slow (91 - 110) |
Lead Vocal |
Female Vocal |
Mood |
Poignant, Welcoming |
Subject |
Friendship, General |
Similar Artists |
Neko Case, Tori Amos |
Language |
English |
Era |
2000 and later |
| |
Lyrics
Roads run by trainyards
Ships sail past my heart
I'll see you down on the tracks tonight
You and your bottle of screw top wine
Beautiful in our whiskey haze
beautiful in our messy ways
you told me once perfect's never good
i held your hand as we gathered the wood
lighting the fire where the cops don't come
smoke in our hair smoke in our lungs
the girls blow on empty jugs
the boys beat on makeshift drums
Roads run by train cars
we're walkin out to the shipyard
you hang your feet down off of the pier
dancin in moonlight
spillin your beer
They go in boxcars two by two
we sit by the fire drinkin our due
songs rising up into the night
the stars as our witness making it right
foghorn blowing ghostly and true
my voice singing only to you
Roads run by trainyards
we're shooting the moon with a deck of cards
there's nothin we can't do tonight
we're a tangle of laughter lost in the lights
you take my hand but we dance alone
the fire is dying. the strangers come.
we're a family here in music and booze
there's nothing here to ever lose
Roads run by trainyards
Ships sail past my heart
I'll see you down on the tracks tonight
You and your bottle of screw top wine
Roads run by train cars
we're walkin out to the shipyard
you hang your feet down off of the pier
dancin in moonlight
spillin your beer