So they hauled me on down to the courthouse,
And the judge didn't like me at all,
Ninety days in a cell
and he fined me as well.
Left me in here behind these old walls.
Now I wish I were out on the railway,
I remember back working the rails,
When McHale gave a shout
and the hammers rang out,
Now it's only this old city jail.
Oh, the life it was tough I can tell ya,
And the going got rough as could be,
But a dollar a day put a nip in your te',
And it's better than working for free.
When I went to my rest in the evening,
I could look past the stars overhead,
Now the light from the lamp
and the smell of the damp,
Are all that are left me instead.
Now I wish I were out on the railway,
I remember back working the rails,
When McHale gave a shout
and the hammers rang out,
Now it's only this old city jail.
When I dream now I dream of the engines,
Pulling by me in elegant style,
And the sound of the maul,
the old work whistle's call
And four hundred rails to the mile.
Oh, I think the old generation,
Of the crews and the tri-level cars,
How I wish I were back
on that Old Northern track,
And to hell with these rusty old bars.
Now I wish I were out on the railway,
I remember back working the rails,
When McHale gave a shout
and the hammers rang out,
Now it's only this old city jail.