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Get On 'Board

from Back Where We Came From by Purple Gums

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about

Trains are a way to escape from where you are. They don't go just anywhere. Their movement is restricted, their goal set before they start out. No options. But, they'll get you someplace other than where you are.

lyrics

I hear the bell.
I hear that bell a chimin',
I hear that bell a ringin'
It's calling me to come over to the line.
Get on the line,
That Rock Island Line.
Get aboard that train little boy.
Get aboard that train and get the hell outta here.
Leave this place,
This place of people who don't recognize other people.
Leave this place.
I hear that bell in the distance
And I hear the whistle,
The whistle to the gate North.
Out, out, outta this place.
I been here too long.
I'm just a boy, I'm just a child,
But my father was here,
My mother was here,
My grandfather, my great grandfather,
And before that, I don't know.
I don't know, but that's long enough.
That's enough people.

I hear the bell,
Its callin' me to go,
Get on the rails.
Get on the back of the train,
Get on the front, get in the middle,
Just get on.
Go! Go!
North! North, brother!
Go!
Luck up!
Maybe things won't be better there.
Maybe I'll hear the angels sing.
It's a little early for angels,
But maybe it's better there than here.
Even if all I'm surrounded by is angels and their wings.
Will I get wings?
Will I ever get any wings?
What have I done to deserve wings?
Why do I have to earn 'em?
It seems to me I should start with wings
And then I have to lose 'em.
That's how it seems to me.

I hear that bell.
I hear the train a commin'
Commin' 'round the bend.
Get on that train little boy.
Get on that train.

credits

from Back Where We Came From, released July 17, 2020
Bobby Bradford - cornet, bell
Francis Wong - tenor sax
William Roper - tuba, spoken word, vocals

license

all rights reserved

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about

William Roper Los Angeles, California

William Roper is a multi-disciplinary artist residing in Los Angeles. His primary foci are music composition, music performance and improvisation, and the visual arts. He has toured Japan, Europe, and the two Americas, as soloist and ensemble musician. He is represented on 60+ recordings, twelve as leader. ... more

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