Loudon Wainwright Iii Bill Mason's Bride
Half an hour 'til train time, sir,
And a fearful dark time, too;
Take a look at the switch lights, Tom,
Fetch in a stick when you're through.
On time? Well, yes, I guess so -
She left the last station all right;
Bet she'll come around the curve a-flying;
Bill Mason's on tonight.
You know Bill? He's engineer,
Been on the road most of his life -
I'll never forget the morning
He married himself a wife.
Bill hadn't been married an hour,
When up come a message from Kress,
Ordering Bill to go down there
And bring out the night express.
And Maggie sat down by the window
To wait for the night express;
And, sir, if she hadn't 'a done so,
She'd 'a been a widow, I guess.
For it must 'a been about midnight
When the mill hands left the Ridge;
Down came those drunken devils,
And tore off a rail from the bridge.
But Maggie heard them working
And guessed there was somethin' wrong,
And in less than fifteen minutes,
Bill's train would be along!
She couldn't 'a come here to tell us,
A mile - it wouldn't 'a done;
So she just grabbed a lantern,
And made for the bridge on the run.
By God! Bill saw the signal,
And he stopped the night express,
And he found his Maggie crying
On the track in her weddin' dress;
Cryin' and laughin' for joy, sir,
And holding on to the light -
Well here's the train - good-bye, sir,
Bill Mason's on time tonight.
