One sultry summer morning, in the year of 1918
Three-hundred men with ebony skin
Pulled out of union station
Heading out of Nashville, Western Tennessee
Homeward bound cause uncle sam closed down
A munitions factory

At that very moment on the Cheatham County line
Old number one train from Memphis
Was running way behind
Back in the smoker clubin' car, a Memphis gambling man
Said "gentleman, I'm folding these cards
'Cause I drew a dead man's hand! "

A young man in a milk truck out near dutchman's grade
Said oh my god two trains one track
Then he closed his eyes and he prayed
A Sister from the orphans home made a cross upon her chest
'Cause a one iron beast was coming from the east
And another one was coming from the west

The bird flew from the treetops, as the impact shook the ground
The screaming wheels and the grinding steel
Could be heard for miles around

The bird flew from the treetops, as the impact shook the ground
The screaming wheels and the grinding steel
Could be heard for miles around

Now every July 9th, a few miles west of town
To this day some folks say
You can hear that mournful sound