Fog rolls thick past signal lights
Swallows up the rail yard night
A vintage frame leans crooked-wise
Reflects the yard's unblinking eyes
No rider left to steer it home
Left standing where the switchmen roam
Fogged chain don't turn no more
Rust holds tight the metal core
Rail yard fog keeps turning keys
Locking up the memories
Cook watches from the diner door
Wipes a counter, checks the clock once more
Sees the bike through fogged up panes
Remembers how the rider came
Short joke forms but dies unsaid
Buried where the bacon's spread
Fogged chain don't turn no more
Rust holds tight the metal core
Rail yard fog keeps turning keys
Locking up the memories
Whitewalls cracked on twenty-inch rims
Basket bent from grocery runs
Bell don't ring, the striker's gone
Quiet as the morning dawn
Frame still bears the maker's mark
Schwinn badge dulled by soot and dark
Fogged chain don't turn no more
Rust holds tight the metal core
Rail yard fog keeps turning keys
Locking up the memories
Morning shift will clear the yard
Fog lifts slow, the day starts hard
Couplers clang, the yard awakes
Bike stands tall for morning's sake
Chain might turn with WD-40
And a joke to start the day
Fogged chain don't turn no more
Rust holds tight the metal core
Rail yard fog keeps turning keys
Locking up the memories
But grease and grit will set it free
Fogged chain turns for you and me
Steam rises from the coffee cup
Day shift rings the diner up
Wheels catch