Old Number 9 / sittin’ on a spur
A year in the weeds / just dreamin’ ‘bout her
But the engineer wakens to the call of the wild
A rumble in the distance, hell, 36 mile
Ain't no part of nothin’, it could have been Spain
Distance ain’t resistance, baby, when you got Train On The Brain

This morning’s beginning / is mourning’s end
For the little Tin Man / who’d gone round the bend
He wakes up hoping that this morning would
Send aloft a signal that his lady-love could
See on the horizon, know he’s coming after her
She knows she gonna take a ride on her little chauffeur, she got Train On The Brain

Call out the police, call out the guard
The train jumped the switch at the switchin' yard
It’s run amok in Beigeville it’s running off the rails
He’s steaming through the suburbs, going for the grail
He’s mowing down the shopping malls he’s tearing through the trees
No designated driver there to take away the keys
Shooting across the harbor now, he’s burnin’ all that pain
Agony and nitro, he’s the needle in her vein, they got Train on the Brain

Single-malt whiskey / or spots on the sun
Who can say what it is / that makes the little engine run?
A hand on the throttle, a hand on the brake
That handle in the middle makes the engineer ache
He’s a libido torpedo really ballin’ the jack
I love imagery that’s subtle, like a heart attack

Rich man, poor man, beggar-man, priest
All ride together in the belly of the beast
But the brakeman's a junkie, the conductor's insane
Stoker's stuck a poker in the base of his brain, he got Train On The Brain

Froggy went a courtin’ and he did ride, uh huh

Peggin’ that speedo / boiler’s gonna blow
But she’ll be aboard in seconds / just a mile to go
Then watch the train go in the tunnel, you know what that mean
Time to roll the credits, begin the beguine

But old Snidely Whiplash he clipped the angel’s wings
And he’s tied her to the tracks by her own heart-strings
Nine curses at the villain, he pulls back on the reins
(And that’s no mean feat if you know anything ‘bout trains)
Well, that steel horse it rears up and it takes to the sky
Sails right over Lady Love who’s waving bye-bye
He rockets through the stratosphere, he’s long gone
He’s out there with Sputnik and Major Tom and that’s Train On The Brain