"Jim Blake's Message" lyrics - THE CARTER FAMILY

"Jim Blake, your wife is dying"
Went over the wires tonight
The message was brought to the depot
By a lad all trembling with fright
He entered the office crying
His face was terribly white
And this message to dad and his engine
"Mother is dying tonight"

[Instrumental break]

In something less than an hour
Jim's answer back to me flew
"Tell wife I'll be there at midnight
I'm praying for her, too"
"I left my son in the office"
Said the message to Jim's wife
I found the dying woman
Was scarce of breath and life

[Instrumental break]

For hill and dale and valley
Thunders a heavy train
Its engine is sobbing and throbbing
And under a terrible strain
But Jim hangs on to his throttle
Guiding her crazy flight
And his voice cries out in the darkness
"Godspeed the express tonight"

[Instrumental break]

I telephoned the doctor
"How is Jim's wife?" I asked
"About the hour of midnight
Is long as she can last"
In something less than an hour
The train will be along
But here, I have a message
Oh God, there is something wrong

[Instrumental break]

The message reads "Disaster"
The train is in the ditch
The engineer is dying
Derailed by an open switch
And there's another message
To Jim's wife it is addressed
"I'll meet her at midnight in heaven
Don't wait for the fast express"