The Trail Ahead

When I was a young boy roamin' on the railroad tracks

Put copper pennies on the rail, locomotive come and squash 'em flat

We'd run to fetch 'em back
Summer nights at Gran-ma's house cozy in my bed dreams of far-off places and other lives to be led, swirling in my head

And there's a train in the distance there's a whistle calling, silver moonlight falling

Now I am a grown man turning in my sleep, debts and obligations
Family ties run deep, promises to keep

You can ride that train to the far end of creation, away from everything and everyone you know, you better make friends with your angels and your demons, they will be riding with you wherever you may go, but you have to go

There's a train in the distance, there's a whistle calling,

 autumn leaves will be falling

Fred Astaire

I know you're disappointed, I can see it in your eyes
This isn't what you wanted and now you realize

I ain't no knight in shining armor who comes a-ridin' 'cross the lea

 Now, the merchants in the marketplace they're selling fantasy
It's a trick of light and shadow it's not reality
It's just a faded photograph of the man I used to be
You're lookin' for a younger man - not me

I knew the day I met you it was never gonna last

You're an angel from the future I'm an old devil from the past

So, trust me when I tell you this is the way it's meant to be

If you believe in better days ahead for this crazy human race
That we will somehow be delivered by goodness and by grace

And if you're lookin' for believers in faith and hope and charity

Then, you're lookin' for a younger man - not me

C

Got a message in my mailbox from an old friend I hardly ever see, all it said was you were trying to get a hold of me. I stared down at your number, and I felt passion and I felt fear. I wondered what the Hell you wanted after all the years? Cause there is danger in the embers, and I have only myself to blame, if I get burned when I try to rekindle that old flame.

C: Well I know we ended badly, and I was angry for a very long time. But I've grown some and I wanted you to know that I'm doing just fine. I'm not asking for a replay, I've got no delusions, got no designs. But can I borrow just a little cup of kindness for Auld Lang Syne?

Speak to me plain, tell me the truth. Is it me you really miss, or just your long lost youth?

Yeah there is danger in the embers, and you know nothing, nothing stays the same.
You can get burned when you try to rekindle that old flame.