Let It Rock
Railway Worker's Blues: Tales of Hard Labor & Freedom in Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock
Lyrics
In the heat of the day down in Mobile Alabama
In the daytime in Mobile, Alabama
Working on the railroad with the steel driving hammer
Engaged in railroad work with a powerful hammer
I gotta get some money to buy some brand new shoes
Need money for new shoes
Tryin' to find somebody to take away these blues
Seeking someone to alleviate his sadness
"She don't love me" hear them singing in the sun
Hearing people sing that she doesn't love him
Payday's coming and my work is all done
Anticipating payday as work is complete
Well, in the evening when the sun is sinking low
In the evening as the sun sets
All day I been waiting for the whistle to blow
Waiting for the end-of-day whistle
Sitting in a tee pee built right on the tracks
Sitting in a teepee by the railroad tracks
Rolling them bones until the foreman comes back
Gambling until the supervisor returns
Pick up you belongings boys and scatter about
Ordered to disperse as an unscheduled train approaches
We've got an off-schedule train comin' two miles out
A train is approaching two miles away
Everybody's scrambling, running around
Commotion and chaos ensue
Picking up their money, tearing the tee pee down
People rushing to collect their earnings, dismantling the teepee
Foreman wants to panic, 'bout to go insane
The supervisor is panicking, on the verge of insanity
Trying to get the workers out the way of the train
Attempting to clear the workers from the train's path
Engineer blows the whistle loud and long
The train's engineer signals loudly
Can't stop the train, have to let it roll on
Unable to stop the train, it must continue rolling
Comment