Smoke in my eyes, Soot in my hair, Cinders in my shoes,
I'm watching the needle falling away, and singing the eight Freight Blues.
Well, were running late, in a sorry state on 8215,
She's overdue for boiler work and I cant get her to steam,
With a thousand tonnes of coal behind and a Tender full of slack,
Me mate sent me to Coventry and we just wont dance her back,
Well,
Smoke in my eyes, Soot in my hair, Cinders in my shoes,
I'm watching the needle falling away, and singing the eightFreight Blues.
Now across the cab, the driver sits and he's staring straight ahead,
He's not spoken to me for 18 months since I started at the shed,
He's drawn a line across the cab for each of us to stand,
Since he found I joined the NUR while he was an ASLEF man,
Well,
Smoke in my eyes, Soot in my hair, Cinders in my shoes,
I'm watching the needle falling away, and singing the Late Freight Blues.
I fired her thin, and piled it in, but still she wouldnt go,
when the water dropped, that forced her stop on the mainline for a blow,
I've smashed the clinker, cleaned the fire, tried every trick I know,
With the rake and dart, but that old fart blames me for all that goes,
Smoke in my eyes, Soot in my hair, Cinders in my shoes,
I'm watching the needle falling away, and singing the Late Freight Blues
I wonder where he's off too when he sings "train leaves at 2, platform 3 Waterloo" then later comes with "trapped for three hours until I get there."
