Song Description
This is a ballad written in AAAB quatrains with no meter. It lacks metaphor and simile, but is very strong in terms of a solid theme/feeling and the images that create it. "He knows what he is and what he ain't/Just a man of mud" is an allusion to the classic myth of humans being made of mud, but has the deeper meaning that he (Willie) is in touch with the grim realities of how meaningless life can be.
| Song Length |
4:08 |
Genre |
Rock - Classic, Rock - Psychedelic |
| Tempo |
Medium (111 - 130) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Peaceful, Poignant |
Subject |
Existence, Trains |
| Language |
English |
Era |
2000 and later |
Lyrics
Lonesome Willie he ain't got nothing left
But a suitcase full of bones, he don't fear death
Sittin in the cold where he can see his breath
Underneath the streetlight
On the platform Willie lays his head
While the trains roll on by his bed
Last time I saw him, all he said
Was 'I can't hear nothing but the night'
Crickets chirp, the whistle blows
Down the tracks the boxcar rolls
Willie he don't know where it goes
But he sure as hell don't fight
The blind conductor clicks his heels
The tracks they disappear beneath the wheels
Everybody cries but no one really feels
Anything but their own blood
Lonesome Willie ain't no saint
He just ain't got no soul left to taint
He knows what he is and what he ain't
Just a man of mud
The nighttime screams don't leave me here
No one dreams no more its clear
Everybody just shuts their eyes and fears
Of being laid down in the ground