Although not really my "favorite" song by any stretch, I like the lyrics and the music.
The main thrust of the song is the competition between the Devil and God/the Lord for the souls of the dead.
quote:
Well the railway man he cut the cards
and he dealth them each a hand of five
And for the Lord he was praying hard
or that train he'd have to drive...
Well the Devil he had three aces and a king,
and the Lord He was running for a straight,
He had the queen and the knave and the nine and ten of spades,
all He needed was the eight.
And then the Lord He called for one more card,
but He drew the diamond eight,
And the Devil said to the Son of God,
"I believe you've got it straight,
So deal me one for the time has come
to see who'll be the king of this place",
But as he spoke, from beneath his cloak,
he slipped another ace...
Ten thousand souls was the opening bid,
and it soon went up to fifty-nine,
but the Lord didn't see what the Devil did,
and He said "that suits me fine.
I'll raise you high to a hundred and five,
and forever put an end to your sins",
But the Devil let out a mighty shout, "My hand wins!"
Interpretation: Good is blinded by the constraints that force it to always play fair. Evil will always win because Good is, erm, stupid.
quote:
Chorus:
And I said "Lord, oh Lord, you let him win.
The sun is down and the night is riding in.
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line,
Oh Lord, don't let him win..."
Final verse:
quote:
Well that Spanish train still runs between
Quadalquivir and old Seville,
And at dead of night the whistle blows,
And people fear she's running still...
And far away in some recess
The Lord and the Devil are now playing chess.
The Devil still cheats and wins more souls,
And as for the Lord...
Well He's just doing his best...
™ Version 4.2