I drove the night in a yellow cab
Saw the city bleed a rusty scab
I parked the car by the rail yard gate
Where the heavy iron engines wait
Cut the light into a thousand hues
Paint the gray with the midnight blues
Heavy lead and a steady hand
Making color in a concrete land
He sits alone with a piece of red
While the foggy air is thick as lead
He shapes the glow of a morning sun
Before the midnight shift is done
Cut the light into a thousand hues
Paint the gray with the midnight blues
Heavy lead and a steady hand
Making color in a concrete land
The tracks are humming a low-end moan
A weary man in a quiet zone
He blends the gold with a touch of lime
Counting beats in a different time
The fog is rolling like a river tide
Nowhere left for a soul to hide
He breathes the sulfur and the salty steam
Waking up from a working dream
I told him son it is a long haul ride
Keep the fire burning deep inside
Don't let the soot dim the vivid glare
Of the magic hanging in the air
Cut the light into a thousand hues
Paint the gray with the midnight blues
Heavy lead and a steady hand
Making color in a concrete land
He looks at me with a tired eye
While the freight train lets a lonely cry
He sells the light to the blind and poor
Then he closes up his workshop door
Cut the light into a thousand hues
Paint the gray with the midnight blues
Heavy lead and a steady hand
Making color in a concrete land
Glass and steel, cold and real.
Just a fare on a rusted wheel.
