“Outside the law your luck will run out fast
And a few years came and went
Till he’s trapped in an alley in Abilene
With all but four shells spent…”
I was listening to Steve Earle’s 1995 record “Train A Comin’ ” (Buy
“And he realized prayin’ was the only thing
That he hadn’t ever tried
Well he wasn’t sure he knew quite how
But he looked up to the sky…”
I really got off on this track yesterday - it’s a period ballad about a fictional outlaw who gets himself into a bit of a pinch. I don’t know about you, but I can certainly relate to a metaphorical alley in Abilene. A place in your life where you’re getting pretty low on options.
“Said ‘You don’t owe me nothin’ and as far as I know
Lord don’t owe nothin’ to you
And I ain’t askin’ for a miracle Lord
Just a little bit of luck will do…”
Man, Earle used to write some songs. It’s a shame about the last few albums.
“Train A Comin’ ” is available from 
and Amazon
4 responses so far ↓
1 Jamie // Jan 6, 2008 at 7:24 am
Two of my favorite all-time albums are El Corazon and The Mountain. Admittedly, these are Earle’s most country (and bluegrass, of course) records. El Corazon was the first Earle record I bought, and for a long time I bought every record since, but the last few have been so disappointing I have stopped, both due to the decline in the song-writing and the more pop/rock feel. “Christmastime in Washington” is such a masterful political song (as are The Mountain and Harlan Man as well), it is sad to see his latest records dominated by political songs that seem heavy-handed and one-note.
2 CDV // Jan 6, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Yeah, me to Jamie. I just finished listening to “The Mountain” and it’s SOOOOO good. I’m with you on the more subtle political songs as well - can you think of a better song lyric for the Clinton years than:
“It’s Christmas time in Washington and the Democrats rehearsed/Getting in to gear for four more years of things not getting worse…”
3 arizaphale // Jan 10, 2008 at 12:04 am
Re: Tom Ames…..well the Lord helps those who help themselves
4 heath // Mar 3, 2008 at 5:54 pm
train a comin is steve earles best album period…no shit, all great songs.
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