| A soldier rides on a train to Tennessee |
| And half asleep he dreams it isn’t a dream |
| With each flick of the wheels a new face goes by |
| With each face he loves he turns and sighs |
| And he’s headed home |
| Yes, yes, he’s headed home |
| Tryin' to find his life again |
| 'Cause he wonders what’s become of him |
| Three rows back a young woman looks out the train |
| Her eyes reveal that her life is desperately plain |
| She’s a woman who’s seen this world and not touched one man |
| She knows she could if she would but she can’t |
| And she’s goin' home |
| Yes, yes, goin' home |
| Back where life begins and ends |
| And they feel that you belong to them |
| That train’s just movin' on down the line |
| Leavin' people who ever did fall behind |
| And you wanna begin somewhere |
| But you’ll always take a chance out there |
| So you go down the line |
| Down the line. . |
| I sit half drunk in the dining car and I observe life |
| I got him pegged and I’m pretty sure I got her right |
| When you’ve been as far as I have you just know these things |
| That’s the reason it’s sad they drank those drinks |
| 'Cause I got no home |
| No, no, I need no home |
| Nothing to bring pain again |
| It’s great just livin' on the wind |
| But the woman is met by her husband there at the station |
| And two stops later the soldier’s girl is still waitin' |
| I simply accept the fact they’re just lucky, that’s all |
| But the fact is I don’t believe they pulled it off! |
| And I can’t go on |
| No, no, I can’t go on |
| Making everything I see |
| Fit the way life was for me |
| That train’s just movin' on down the line |
| Leavin' people who ever did fall behind |
| And I wanna begin somewhere |
| But for me there’s nothing true out there |
| So I go down the line |
| Down the line. .. go on down the line. .. go on down the line. . |