Story Behind The Song
I had been revisiting stories of Woody Guthrie and Derroll Adams, and how they walked the fence between settling down and wanderlust, and started writing a song using characters that could have been me and a girl. So yes, it's a song about a girl.
Song Description
Looking at my life through a fictional looking glass, watching the intertwining of the real and the unreal, and spinning it all in a country yarn.
| Song Length |
3:16 |
Genre |
Country - Alternative, Folk - Alternative |
| Tempo |
Medium (111 - 130) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Moving, Poignant |
Subject |
Attracted, Crush, Sorrow |
| Similar Artists |
Leon Russell, Arlo Guthrie |
Language |
English |
| Era |
1940 - 1949 |
| |
Lyrics
Little Girl From Houston
lyrics/music copyright 2003 T.S.Harkey
It's such a long black rail, lawd
It's such a long black rail
It's such a long black rail, lawd
It's such a long black rail
Spent time in New York City
Did time in Omaha
I met a little girl from houston
With a California drawl
On East to paint the Delta blue
Walkin' trails of Cherokee
I chased the little girl from houston
Made her fall in love with me
But I'm just another lost cause
Sleepin' out with those jackdaws
Thinkin' like some old stray dog
Ridin' out here on the rails
I won't be livin' this life long
Listen close to those sad songs
When you settle down, then I'll be gone
Out on the long black rail
Down south near the border
In the common devil's claw
I wed the little girl from houston
With the California drawl
Next stop, Oklahoma
Wherever metal wheels can't fail
Me and the little girl from houston
Out on the long black rail
But I'm just another lost cause
Sneakin' in through those back doors
Stinkin' like some old stray dog
Ridin' out here on the rails
I won't be livin' this life long
Listen close to this sad song
When you settle down, then I'll be gone
Out on the long black rail