Soft cheek upon the sill
Soft light of morning
Will greet your arrival
See to your survival
See it spread below you there
The settlement of Rovenshere
Wild strawberries grow
Among the herds of buffalo
Enough to go around and round
Our love is in the very ground
And suspended in the air
Of the land of Rovenshere

There is something I want to show you
There is something bothering me
Will you walk me home, honey?
There is something I want you to see
Some other gravid pelagical magic pulls
At the gulls flashing
Rose on their wings and wheeled away
The flock leaves steady nests
Exodus to the east
And vees off - set, making glyphs
Snaking like the hissing edge of the wave

There's an ocean over there, honey
I believe they're going to that sea
Smell it in the air, honey
Do you want to find it with me?
Depot agent, switchman, trackman, dispatcher, bridge tender, flagman, hostler, grader, platelayer

Lately I've been listening
Tell you this, I know where they're going
Rolling in the distance
I hear the pistons and whistle a-blowing

Overhead the smudge heavily rises
Scuds, spreads and disguises with grease and coal
The flock leaves steady nests
Like tossed confetti drifts
Across the continents
Evidence of the geese and the gulls

I need to be of service to you
Chaperone a lonesome frontier
How do you do?
I'll welcome you to the border, my dear

Porter, point man, boiler man, gandy dancer, flag man, brake man, yard master, steward, signal man

I plan to be there at the station
Once you're safely boarded, my dear
It's a separate conversation
You go on and I will stay here
By my side the love of mine stands
Golden spike in his hands
Hammering time into place
I see your faces against the glass
Angels and acrobats advancing at the gates

All aboard, all aboard the train
All aboard, all aboard the train
All aboard, all aboard the train
All aboard the train

Lay the beds and lower the blinds
Bear my heart into the night
Ain't it heavy, ain't it light?
What we carry, for our time
Is yours and mine
And we are gone in the blink of an eye
The shore, it shines at the end of the line

All aboard, all aboard the train
All aboard, all aboard the train
All aboard, all aboard the train
All aboard the train

I believe you'll be alright
At the depot we hold tight
Where you scale the mountainside
And prevail, we abide
And we will wait, we will write!
But who will raise the hue and cry?
For what was taken in the night
Aching bones and failing sight
Went sailing by in the blink of an eye
The rails, the ties, and the vacant sky
Arise and awaken
Cries the brakeman

Soft cheek upon the sill
Brakes squeak high and shrill
Wake you up in wonderment
See the change you underwent
Disembark and listen well
To the boardwalk and the carousel
And the cool green avenues
Where they're playing horseshoes
Hear the uncountable
Crowd of gulls surmount the shore
Landing with a caterwaul
At the end of all their tour
It is theirs and yours, my dear
Farewell to the engineer
Wish I could see you there
In the land of Rovenshere

[Spoken]
Well I hope you're listening very carefully children because there's not a star in the sky you can follow to get there
There's no means of navigation
You have to convene at the station and get a ticket, be patient
Seems strange but it's not so different that you can't find your way there, or breathe the air
Or that you don't want to stay there
And though it may, by mistake, be waylaid
Just find a seat on the great machine
Full steam, 42-tonnes and Lord!
Hear her run through the buffalo grass
Huffing like lungs along the tracks
That shine in the sun
Like a line of honey, slowly poured
Shining like a silken cord, winding through the hills that border Rovenshere, at last
Where the waves crash on the shore
And bask in the light of the Lord
Way down in the wide gorge
Where the tide rolls
And the white gulls arive, soar, and dive
Score the sky like lowering knives
Performing the rites of Rovenshere, at last

In the past I was there
It was allowed of me
And so that you might know just a little bit about me
I will tell you I have seen the white clouds fleeing their own shadows
To the sea, scattering beams
I've gathered sweet apples cast from the trees
And the cherries, plums, and tangerines
Heard the trunks creak in the breeze
Heard them drunk bees knocking petals from the lemon trees
And the meadow-peas and the nettle and anemones
And all lock arms, laugh and spill pell-mell down the hill
To—well, you know where
But I took the stairs!
And in the village square we hear the ringing of a dinner bell
And all will know that all is well
Announcing with a gallant sound
All are accounted for and found
For you see, no calamity befalls your friends or family here
At all in Rovenshere!
Well that's the hope, that's the prayer
It's not utopia, it's not heaven
Though it may as well be
For it’s a time and a place that I'll never see
But don't you worry about me
With my feet up on my rock candy chimney
And my gingerbread pied-a-terre
Up there on the coastline
In a home of my own Ma and Pa’s design

Do you see?
I do for you what they did for me
And you can do for yours in due course
And if it's just a story that don't make it any less true
Oh well if it's a song does that make it any less true?
Well I suggest you tell that to the company and crew of the Rovenshere express!
And then go collect your personal effects
Head on back west
Or you could stay... and I hope you do
And that's how you get there, anyway

Choo-choo!