In the year of 1896, when the Katy railroad was king,
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And the fruits of farm and industry were carried by steel and steam,
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The town of Crush was christened for a day, and folks came from far and
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Wide
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To gather there in the sweltering heat and watch two trains collide.
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Two locomotives, breathing steam, sat face-to-face on the track,
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Then slowly their wheels began to turn as the engineers throttled them
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Back.
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Both climbed a grade leaving two miles between, on the hills they drew to a
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Hush,
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And forty-thousand people waited down below to witness the crash at Crush.
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Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, wheels a-rumblin' on the railroad track,
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Once they go they can't turn back, once they go they can't turn back.
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He locked the lever back to the second notch just after the signal came,
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He stayed on board for sixteen exhausts, and then he jumped off of the
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Train.
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The young engineer watched her roar down the hill and a chill ran through
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His soul,
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For he knew that neither man nor God above could stop what would now
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Unfold.
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The engines met in a thunderous crash and climbed each other toward the
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Sky,
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The impact rattled the earth for miles around, and the twisted wreckage did
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Fly.
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In a moment more the boilers exploded, and the steam blocked out the sun,
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Some lost their lives while others lie bleeding, and the rest of them could
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Only run.
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Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, wheels a-rumblin' on the railroad track,
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Once they go they can't turn back, once they go they can't turn back.
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In a cotton field near Waco, Texas between two peaceful hills
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A sign reminds us to hold respect for the power of the beasts we build,
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And you and I in our lifetimes will never get to feel such a rush
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As the people who saw and lived to tell of the awesome crash at Crush.
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Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, wheels a-rumblin' on the railroad track,
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Once they go they can't turn back, once they go they can't turn back.
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The Crash At Crush
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Brian Burns |