Ballad Of Tundra Lyrics

the snow came drilling down

and it drove me from the riverside

running ragged towards the train yard

to catch a freighter home.

my fingers felt frost

the icy wind drew water from my eyes

the rails were slick with winter

the cold clawed at my bones.



my words came out in clouds

as I called to a brakeman

do any trains go east? I said

he pointed to the sky.

my son, he said, just look up there

the clouds look the same everywhere

and they'll follow you anywhere

that you can hop a train.



so I will point you east, my son

but your journey will not be done

when you return to the city

that you call your home.

i know that you're a wandering

and looking for the words to sing

but the melody of liberty

is written in your bones.



the man's words echoed in my head

i followed where his finger led

climbed into an empty boxcar

slammed the door against the cold.

the wind whipped through the creaking boards

and sang a song without no words

but soon above its moans i heard

a voice clear and strong.



no i was not alone at all

sitting there against the wall

a girl with eyes of emerald flame

and a traveler's well-worn hands.

come here, she said, and sit by me

we are one and the same, you see?

and please don't say a word

because i already understand.





away! away!

where has she gone?

another train today

tomorrow in another drifter's song.



the freight train it thundered on

as time marched into the dawn

her eyes told me her stories

and her lips told me the rest.

our dreams developed undefined

amidst our bodies intertwined

as the icy world outside

melted into memory.



it was just as cold back east

when i got off of the train

i held her close and asked her

if we would ever meet again

she was lookin' o'er my shoulder

at something far away

her voice came from somewhere distant

as she said, 'on another train someday.'



a love affair is always

far shorter than the memory

and as i walked away from her

the snow it turned to rain

i looked up to the sky

as i headed for the interstate

the clouds of course had followed me

and they looked just the same.



long years i have waited

going often to the train-tracks

but the memories are fading

and i never once saw her again.

but let no one say that love is a fairytale

there's warmth in a boxcar

or a letter from a friend.

believe me for i have seen

the borders of humanity

the fires of our sanity

will burn our long past the end.



away! away!

where have i gone?

another train today

tomorrow in another drifter's song

tomorrow in another drifter's song.