Merle Haggard The Silver Ghost
On a cold and rainy night I was sittin' in the light
Of my switchman shack of mine post on the mountain
The storm were pretty bad and the telephone was dead
But it was just eleven hours till the dawn
Then much to my surprise the telegraph jumped in the
light
As I read the code I thought could this be true
The train was on its way headed up to mountain grade
But she didn't have no engineer or crew
At the other switch they tried to put her on the
mountain side
But she kept on coming up the mountain grade
well I quickly dowsed the light to try to see into the
night
Maybe I could spot her headlight in the rain
She was pounding' down below I could hear her whistle
blow
And I thought Lord that's a high and mournful sound
Then the telegraph began, there's a caving in the mine
And the hundred men have buried neath the ground
Lord she's coming now I see her round the bend and
straight at me
And her boiler is glowin' red as coal in hell
The headlight switchin' wide searchin' all the mountain
side
But the only sound she's making it's a wail
Then I recognized the train by the number and the name
It's from miners Silver Ghost 0-40-1
Then she vanished up the track by the lonely switchman
shack
Like a mother who was looking for her son
Now I heard the story how an engine went to glory
Over fifty years ago in the same line
It was steaming for the cave-in there were men needed
saving
But it missed the curve in trestle near the mine
And every now and then you'll hear a whistle on the
wind
It's from mountain slides where many men are lost
It's a high and lonely wail and searching up and down
the mountain
It's the train they call the Miners Silver Ghost
The train they call the Miners Silver Ghost
The train they call the Miners Silver Ghost
