A stranger lyin' on a barroom floor Had drank so much, he could drink no more And so he fell asleep with a troubled brain To dream that he rode on a hellbound train
The engine was bloody, it was sweaty and damp And brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp An imp for fuel was shovelin' bones While a furnace rang with a thousand groans
The boiler was filled with lager beer The devil himself was the engineer The passengers were most a motley crew Some were foreigners and others he knew Rich men in broadcloth, beggars in rags Handsome young ladies and wicked old hags
As the train rushed on at a terrible pace Sulfuric fumes scorched their hands and face Wider and wider the country grew Faster and faster the engine flew Louder and louder the thunder crashed Brighter and brighter the lightnin' flashed Hotter and hotter the air became 'Til the clothes were burnin' with each quivering flame Then out of the distance, there came a yell 'Ha ha,' said the devil, 'We're nearin' hell' Oh, how the passengers, stricken with pain Begged old Satan to stop that train
The stranger awoke with an anguished cry His clothes wet with sweat and his hair standin' high He fell to his knees on the barroom floor And prayed and prayed like never before
And the prayers and vows were not in vain For he never rode that hellbound train Ha ha ha ha ha