Matt Smith

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Matt Smith clocks in while the yard lamps blink, Coffee gone cold, boots black with grease. He can thread two cars through a hairpin turn, Set a whole long freight with a half-inch ease. The crew all knows when the radio cracks, “Matt’s got the move”—then the couplers sing. Best switcher on the railroad, no question asked, He can make a mile of steel behave like a string. [Chorus] Matt Smith, king of the switch-yard line, Got a story for the crew every single time. Saw Bigfoot by the water tower—swears it waved, Then vanished in the pines like it caught the train he saved. Could be true, could be tall-tale gold, By the time he’s done, the whole room’s sold. Matt Smith, let that wild yarn ride— We’ll believe you till the next one comes by. [Verse 2] Says a storm once lifted a boxcar clean, Set it down where the dispatcher said “no.” Claims a coyote stole his lunch and a glove, Then came back at dawn with a union card to show. One night, he says, there was a thing on the ridge, Seven feet tall with a lantern for an eye. Matt hit the brake, but the tracks ran straight— That big brown blur just watched the train roll by. [Chorus] Matt Smith, king of the switch-yard line, Got a story for the crew every single time. Saw Bigfoot by the water tower—swears it waved, Then vanished in the pines like it caught the train he saved. Could be true, could be tall-tale gold, By the time he’s done, the whole room’s sold. Matt Smith, let that wild yarn ride— We’ll believe you till the next one comes by. [Bridge] He once chased a runaway hat through three counties, Found it on a goat that knew his name. Says the moon got stuck above the yard one Tuesday, And he nudged it loose with a switchman’s chain. We laugh, then he looks us dead in the eye: “Boys, I’m telling you, that part’s all true.” Then the radio calls and the whole crew moves— Matt’s got another impossible thing to do. [Final Chorus] Matt Smith, king of the switch-yard line, Got a story for the crew every single time. Saw Bigfoot by the water tower—swears it waved, Then vanished in the pines like it caught the train he saved. Could be true, could be tall-tale gold, By the time he’s done, the whole room’s sold. Matt Smith, let that wild yarn ride— Best switcher on the railroad, with the weirdest tales alive. [Outro] When the last car clears and the yard goes still, Matt’s got one more story—and we’re listening still.