Fog rolls heavy on the yard tonight
Fisherman stands where the switches bite
His rod casts lines through the yellow glare
Steel tracks sleep in the cold damp air
Steel and mist they meet again
Midnight shift knows where he's been
No fare to flag no meter run
Just hooks and rails before the sun
Coal cars rust where the weeds grow thick
He knows each creek by the engine's kick
A proverb muttered through chapped dry lips
The river feeds what the locomotive sips
Steel and mist they meet again
Midnight shift knows where he's been
No fare to flag no meter run
Just hooks and rails before the sun
Taxi wisdom in his calloused hands
Reading water like street corner stands
When fog lifts slow he'll pack his gear
Another night logged another year
Steel and mist they meet again
Midnight shift knows where he's been
No fare to flag no meter run
Just hooks and rails before the sun
Dawn breaks pale on the signal lights
He counts his catch in the gray morning whites
The yard wakes loud with the morning crew
He tips his hat to the rails he knew
Steel and mist they meet again
Midnight shift knows where he's been
No fare to flag no meter run
Just hooks and rails before the sun
Steel and mist they meet again
He fades away in the morning rain
Fog lifts the yard wakes up slow
Fisherman walks home alone
