Four Hours Work

Intro
(Slow, lonesome blues harmonica solo wails over a dry acoustic slide guitar)
(Upright bass and brushed train-rhythm snare kick in, building tempo)
​[Verse 1]
Creosote and iron, steam upon the air
Cold metal boxcar, wind stuck in my hair
We pull into the yards before the morning light
Find a day-labor dock, work until the night
Stacking oak timber till my knuckles go raw
Pay me out in paper, no trouble with the law
​[Chorus]
Four hours work, eight dollars in the leather
Moving on down the line, don't care about the weather
No roots in the dirt, no ring upon my hand
Just the steel rails humming through a hollow land
Yeah, the harp keeps blowing and the train rolls on
​[Harmonica Interlude]
(Fast, chugging harmonica solo mimicking train rhythm and steam whistles)
​[Verse 2]
Worked a gravel quarry down in Jackson town
Left before the sunset, didn't stick around
Slept on a sack of salt, woke up in the rain
Trading one coal patch for a northbound train
People build houses made of brick and stone
I just take the timber frame and leave it alone
​[Chorus]
Four hours work, eight dollars in the leather
Moving on down the line, don't care about the weather
No roots in the dirt, no ring upon my hand
Just the steel rails humming through a hollow land
Yeah, the harp keeps blowing and the train rolls on
​[Guitar & Harmonica Dual Solo]
(Raw, distorted acoustic slide guitar trading licks with a screaming, bluesy harmonica)
​[Bridge]
They ask me where I'm heading, I just point at the track
Never was much good at looking back
City lights fading in the heavy twilight gray
Another town behind me by the break of day
​[Outro]
Just a ghost on a flatcar, watching timber fall
Another cup of black coffee at a dining wall
(Harmonica fades out into a slow, distant train-whistle tone)
Roll on... roll on...
(Final dry strum of acoustic guitar)