We
ended the Bibleland Suite (from Vol. 1 of the DAmb Fan Album) with a tag from
Ghost Train To Nowhere. I actually wanted to do Ghost Train originally but
thought the Lost Dogs version was so untouchable that I was content to cameo
Ghost Train in the Bibleland Suite.
But I couldn't leave well e'nuff alone! Oh no, not me! I knew I had to give 'er a
go, and when talk of a DAmb Deux was makin' th' rounds I committed. Ghost Train
proved to be every bit as ambitious as I thought it would be.
We emphasized the Train motif. Duane snagged every Train sound he could find off
of DVD's and sound effect CD's! But we also wanted to play up the Ghost thing.
We sampled Wraiths from The Lord of the Rings, also a character called "No-Face"
from Miyazaki's Spirited Away and of course, the pièce de résistance; John Cleese's rendition of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis!
Duane created the perfect percussion loop and backing track, and his horn work
is at it's best. I expanded my usual vocal harmonies opting to recite the middle
verses. But the biggest challenge of the whole project was mixing! With all
those sounds the first mix was like a huge cacophony because I kept telling
Duane I wanted THIS SOUND louder and THAT EFFECT louder! Well I found out that
you can't have EVERYTHING louder! Thanks to Duane's cool head and great studio
ears I think we were able to find the
right balance.
Produced
and Mixed by Tom McSweeney and Duane Takahashi
Engineered by Duane Takahashi
(Words and Music by Terry Taylor)
It's a sinners dream when the whistle screams
Calling "All aboard you fools and hard-hearted"
Ever circling back on a one way track
They pull into the station where they started
Some arriving when they think they've just departed
But they're not going anywhere
Lost souls when they've landed there choose to stay like prisoners unguarded
All hope is abandoned here 'cause they know the engineer
Ghost Train to Nowhere
They pass a thousand concrete pillars and never see a single tree
Grey sky eyes begging for a little sleep
Down the same dark tunnels past the same empty streets
The cigarette smoke chokes, the coffee's weak
And they cry "oh..."
It's a funeral pyre belching smoke and fire
All luxuries, amenities discarded
It circles back on a one way track
Pulling into the station where where it started
Ghost Train to Nowhere...
They search eternal winter landscapes
For images of loved ones and home
Though every seat and aisle is crowded
They have never felt so all alone
While suffering is assured and silence is preferred
Most everybody weeps though they don't speak a word
They just cry "oh..."
They sigh..."o-o-h-h..."
It's a sinners dream when the whistle screams
Calling "All aboard you fools and hard-hearted"
Ever circling back on a one way track
They pull into the station where they started
Some arriving when they think they've just departed
But they're not going anywhere
Lost souls when they've landed there choose to stay like prisoners unguarded
All hope is abandoned here 'cause they know the engineer
Ghost Train to Nowhere...