Sleeper

[Intro]

A whistle blows

The doors slide shut

I store my baggage overhead

The train hisses a goodbye, the station scrolls by

I fold my coat to make a bed

[Verse 1]

I can't afford a cabin, I can barely pay for this

I envy fellow travelers in their bunks

I look around the carriage and see familiar faces

The dejected, the deserted and the drunks

So I decide to join them, I walk into the club car

The barman says tonight my drinks are free

He says he knew that I was coming, he's an old friend of the family

I might not know him but he knows me

Our first stop's at midnight, we scrape into a station

The platform pristine and glowing white

A nuclear family sits waiting, the children behave

Mom and dad hand in hand, they all smile and wave

I ignore them, we push further into night

[Chorus]

Keep on rolling

Just keep rolling

Now I must be gone

[Verse 2]

I fall in and out of sleep

Unseen scenery flies by, hidden in the darkness, behind glass

The window is my mirror, I look into my eyes

Watching for the light I hope will pass

I go back up to the club car but nobody's there

The barman's gone, his work must be done

He's left a gift on the bar

A six-pack with a tag that reads

"I thought you might need these, have fun"

The next station's almost empty, there's just a lonely busker

He's singing an old song I think I wrote

But he's singing the wrong words above his empty hat

And his rhythm is wrong too and he's singing it so flat

He appalls me with every awful note

[Chorus]

Keep on rolling

Just keep rolling

Now I must be gone

[Verse 3]

One last stop before my final destination

We slow into a tunnel and arrive

All is quiet, there's no one around

Not a soul, not one thing alive

There's a statue on the concourse

An old father of the town

A paragon of virtue with cold eyes

He turns those eyes to me and sadly asserts

"The sinner's life decides his demise"

And then the lights are cut, the station turns black

And once again a face is all I see

I study its creases, the crow's feet and laugh lines

I'm not even sure that it's me

[Chorus]

Keep on rolling

Just keep rolling

Now I must be gone

Keep on rolling

Bells are tolling

Now I must be gone

[Outro]

Now this is my last chance to turn and go home

Only seconds left before the doors close

I stand in the doorway, my bag left behind

I look for light, a whistle blows