Indians Don't Go To Memphis (Midnight on A Freight Train) - song

words and music by larry nicholson


midnight on a freight train
is all I’ll ever be
it's hard to walk away smiling
so hard to be set free
half my weight is memory
the other half carved in stone
i’ll get to Memphis in a bottle
this life’s bred in the bone

some people get paid for their opinion
some swing the hammer all day
some folks get paid for selling Jesus
then get paid to take it all away
you carry on with your kindness
you get caught where the river bends
where the dogs don’t bite gently
each reserve is condemned

bad news, bad news
for the traveling man…

cross every palm you see with silver
the hollow men that you seek
in a house made of dawn there
her icy kiss upon the cheek
you learn to live in silence
in the twilight of your mind
fight back the dark with violence
see the world through a heart gone blind

sad news, sad news
what’s gonna help you sleep?...

dime store politicians
sell the rivers and the breeze
medicine show revolutions
can’t see the forest for the trees
the Indian and the maiden
we’re not long for the world
no heart was made for breaking
but you'd die for the dark-eyed girl

you choose, you choose…

off to Memphis in a freight train
its all you’ll ever be…


© 2010 Champsteen Publishing