The Hell bound Train (transcribed from Gustave Erickson's 1914 Diary)

Tom Gray lay down on a barroom floor,

Having drunk so much he could drink no more,

And fell asleep with a troubled brain,

To dream that he rode on a hell bound train.

The engine with blood was red and damp,

And dismally lit with a brimstone lamp,

An imp for fuel was shoveling bones,

As the furnace roared with a thousand groans,

The boiler was filled with lager beer,

And the devil himself was the engineer;

The passengers made such a motley crew,

Church members, Atheist, Gentile and Jew,

Rich men in broad cloth, beggars in rags,

Handsome young ladies and withered hags,

Yellow and black men, red and white,

Chained together, a horrible sight,

Faster and faster the engine flew;

Wilder and wilder the country grew;

Louder and louder the thunder crashed,

Brighter and brighter the lightning flashed,

Hotter and hotter the air became,

Till the clothes were burning from each quivering frame,

And in the distance they heard a yell,

Ha! Ha! cracked the devil we're nearing hell,

And oh, how the passengers shrieked with pain,

And begged the devil to stop the train,

But her capered about and danced with glee,

And laughed and joked at their agony.

My faithful friends, you have done my work,

And the devil can never a payday shirk,

You have bullied the weak and robbed the poor,

And the hungry brother have turned from your door,

You have gathered up gold where the canker rusts,

And given full vent to your hellish lust

You've drank and rioted and murdered and lied,

And mocked at God in your hellish pride;

You've paid full fare so I'll carry you through,

For it is only right that you get your due,

For every laborer is worth his hire,

So I land you safe in my lake of fire

Where my fiery imps will torment you forever,

And all in vain you will sigh for a savior.

Then Tom awoke with an awful cry,

His clothes soaked wet and his hair standing high,

And he prayed as he had never prayed before,

To be saved from hell and the devil's power,

And his crying and praying was not in vain,

For he never more rode on the hell bound train.