Robbie Fulks - Night Accident lyrics

"Can you hear me now, John" said the voice in my ear "In God's name, give me a sign For the rumble of wheels, I swear it grows near And the sound brings a chill to my spine Through the broken windshield, the world looks all wrong But it's us, not the world, turned sideward And this ain't the county two-lane that we're on, it's the tracks of the Burlington Northern." "See the wide, crooked trail down the muddy bank, John, Now the broken brush clings to the ground See the eyes that the light each second fades from And the two twisted arms hanging down See the black mesh of wire, the tangle of steel That traps us together inside And hear these last, true words I reveal For I know this night I must die." "She came with a hand of kindness outstretched In the time of my heart's deepest need But as day turned to night, and kindness to flesh Our bodies trembled with greed And when the first rays of the morning crept in The memory of another had died But by the ring that she wore, I knew I had sinned And I knelt before Jesus and cried." "You've been like a brother since I was young Your love has been constant and true Oh, the moments we've shared are numberless, John And my hours with her so few A hand rises now to summon my soul And the black depths before me loom Just forgive me this wrong I've done you, my friend And I'll go in peace to my doom. Then breathless with joy came the voice in my ear: "Straight ahead of us, John, can you see? At the top of the hill, in the moonlight so clear A man walks alone through the trees Like a lamp to the lost, God's mercy shines down Now deliverance lies just within sight sound the horn, sound the horn, dear John, do it now Don't sit there and stare at the night." A blanket of calm lies draped o'er this earth to shroud all misery and toil But below us, still red with the blood of its birth, a blaze of pure fury uncoils As vengeful as hands on a crippled man's throat Silently tightening their hold As sure as the path of the 5:19 As down through the valley it rolls.