[Verse 1]
The brakeman's son
Wanders through my gate
Face and hands covered
With what he last ate
My dogs lick him
From head to toe
Knock him down gentle
In the virgin snow
His daddy’s nervous
Cause it don’t make sense
How his baby boy end up
This side the fence
But these dogs would put a hurting
On a stranger come
That ever lay a hand
On the brakeman's son

[Verse 2]
Now, me and your daddy
Don't speak and that's fine
Since he up and sold a parcel
To the Northwest Line
They cut the train trestle
Across my land
Turn my topsoil into
Worthless sand
No, you will never see us
Breaking bread
Now the railroad got a price
Upon my head
We'll be doing battle
'Til our days are done
There’s a legacy
For the brakeman's son
[Chorus]
Now the brakeman stops
A moving train
And his son looks up
At the summer rain
And he catches raindrops
In a little paper cup
And when that fills up
On his tongue
Oh ooh
Mmm
Oh ooh
Mmm

[Verse 3]
Now, I'll never hold against
A hard working brakeman
Doing his job
The best he can
Doing what he can
To keep his family fed
And never be the one
To move the train ahead
There will never come a day
We see eye to eye
And I think about it every time
A train goes by
Foundation of my house is full of
Holes and cracks
And I said things to your daddy
That I can't take back
[Chorus]
Now the brakeman stops
A moving train
And his son looks up
At the summer rain

[Verse 4]
I can't unset the setting sun
And there ain't goin' be no winner
When this war is won
But these dogs would put a hurting
On a stranger come
That ever lay a hand
On the brakeman's son
Oh ooh
Mmm
Oh ooh
Mmm