Jim Blake’s
message
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1. “Jim Blake, your wife is dying”, went over the wires tonight,
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the
message was brought to the depot by a lad all trembling with fright.
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He entered the office crying, his
face was terribly white,
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“Send this message to dad and
his engine, Mother is dying tonight !”
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2. In something less than an hour Jim's message back to me flew,
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“Tell wife I'll be there at
midnight, I'm praying for her, too.”
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I left my son in the office, took
the message to Jim's wife,
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there
I found the dying woman was scarce of breath and life.
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3. O'er hill and dale and valley thunders the heavy train.
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his
engine is sobbing and throbbing and under a terrible strain.
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But Jim hangs onto his
throttle, guiding her crazy flight,
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and his
voice cries out in the darkness, “God speed the express tonight !”
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4. I telephoned the doctor, “How is Jim's wife ?”
I asked.
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“About the hour of midnight is
long as she can last.”
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In something less than an hour
the train will be along,
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but
here I have a message, oh God, there is something wrong.
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5. The message reads : “Disaster ! The train is
in the ditch,
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the
engineer is dying derailed by an open switch.”
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And there is another message to
Jim's wife it is addressed.
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“I'll meet her at midnight in
heaven, don’t wait for the fast express !”
(orig. = capo 2nd) (The Carter
Family)