Peter Hammill
Traintime
[Instrumental Intro]

[Verse 1]
Along the tracks the wires are humming
In bursts of code like far-off drums
Fathering the message:
Further up the line someone's shouting
Down the passage of time

[Verse 2]
The corridor restrains the window
No view without the eye within
Bold upon the threshold
But holding on the line
We're shouting down the passage of time

[Chorus 1]
Relatives speak on the phone, on the train
Talking before they have thought to explain;
Voices pitched wildly on tracks in the night
Can't pick the pace up...
Oh, let there be light!
How light becomes the soul

[Verse 3]
You know yourself the centre of attention
You see yourself the locus of event
I'm sorry if it's painful quarrying the lime
Stage centre
Shouting down the passage of time
[Verse 4]
The corridor retains its shadows
Its secrets compartmentalised
Damping down on ambience
Clamp the teeth and grind
Shouting down the passage of time

[Chorus 2]
What's there to see or make clear?
What's there to know when the voice is right here?
What's there to promise or vow?
What's to believe, when the time is right now?

[Chorus 3]
Relatives spoke on the phone, on the train
Talking before they had sought to refrain;
Voices projected, spears in mid-flight
Frozen forever...
Oh, let there be light!