Lyrics:

Charley on the M.T.A.
music: The Ship that Never Returned; also The Wreck of the Old 97

Let me tell you the story of a man named Charley
On this tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA

CHORUS
Did he ever return, no he never returned
And his fate is still unlearned
He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned.

Charley handed in his ticket at the Kendall Square Station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there the conductor told him, 'One more nickel.'
Charley could not get off that train.
CHORUS

Now all night long Charley rides through the stations
crying, 'What will become of me?
How can I afford to see my sister in Chelsea
Or my cousin in Roxbury?'
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Churl's wife goes down to the Scollay Square station
Every day at quarter past two
And through the open window she hands Charley a sandwich
As the train comes rumblin' through.
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Now did you ever wonder
why she never puts a nickle in his sandwich of cheese and ham?
well the woman has a secret
she wants Charlie on that subway
'cause the woman has another man!

Now you citizens of Boston, don't you think it's a scandal
That the people have to pay and pay
fight the fare increase and Vote for George O'Brien
Get poor Charley off the MTA
CHORUS