Waiting On A Train

Waiting On A Train  

By Paul McCann

 

He was standing at the crossroads now knowing which way to go ,  with a suitcase and guitar . A car stopped and offered him a lift straight ahead on the road .

The accepted the lift and thanked the stranger who said.

“What are you doing here ?”

“ I’m a traveller”

He replied.

Then as they continued along the road the driver asked ,

“ So, are you a professional musician ?”

He replied.

“It’s more of a way of life for me .”

He tried to explain that everything he owned he carried in his arms.  

They both rambled as the miles went past into the fading light . At twilight the driver stopped the car and said .

“This is the end of the line . I’m on my wat to start a new job nearby on the railway/ There’s a motel not far along the road “

 “So is there a railway station then near here then “

“Well yeah but it’s only for freight , not for passengers “

“Well then, I guess songwriters and storytellers like me could be described as freight . I’ve been chasing dreams and finding themes most of my life . They’re all packed away inside my head in an invisible overnight bag that I’ve placed there a long time ago in a waiting room “

The driver sat there and smiled then said ,

“Well, my friend as I’m going to be the new station master , I guess there might be room on a carriage for your freight . There’s southbound train leaving later tonight and you’ll be welcome to get on board .“

The driver continued along the road to the station masters house nearby to the junction at the station . He opened the door o0f the house and unpacked a few things from the car and brought them inside as the songwriter sat in the car .

“What time does the southbound train arrive  ?”

The songwriter asked.

“Well, all depends . It has to wait at another place until the passenger train gets past and then there’s another express trai9n due shortly after so my guess it would be around midnight when the freight train arrives for me to talk to the driver and check the carriages”.

 

“Trains are like people passing by all on a journey . Passengers in time always  waiting form another place to go :

The stationmaster replied ,

“That’s an interesting take on things you know , some passengers never pick the people they meet in a carriage on a train , they’re there briefly and then they’re gone in a moment that never returns . Trains come and go down the tracks of time day after day”.

The songwriter replied ,

“That’s kind of poetic . You have a great way of speaking , maybe there’s a songwriter in your soul there just waiting for a chance to escape “

The station master laughed and said ,

 “I used to write stuff years ago ?”

‘What kind of stuff ?”

The songwriter asked ,

“Poetry , stories , other articles . It was just a hobby , nothing I wrote was ever published .

He replied.

“Have you still got those things you wrote ?“

“No, they were lost somewhere over the years .Moving between houses and jobs “

“You should try again and start writing ?”

The songwriter said ,

“Maybe now is the time , I’ve just been through a divorce a few months ago and applied for this job as a stationmaster in the country so I ‘m sure I’ll have a lot of spare time on my hands . Thanks for the advice I might give it a go “

The songwriter handed him a card with a phone number and said .

“Let me know how it goes . Here are my contact details “

The stationmaster looked at the card and after a few moments he said ,

“So, what make is your guitar ?”

 

“It’s an old Martin six string . Would you like have a look ?”  

“Yeah, I’d love to “

He replied and the songwriter opened up the case and took out his guitar and  handed it over to the station master who asked ,

“Can I try it out ?”

‘Ok no problem “

The songwriter replied ,

Suddenly he started playing it like a professional . The songwriter was stunned and after he stopped playing a few minutes later the songwriter burst out laughing and said ‘

“You never said you could play “

“Well, you never asked me “

Came the reply ,

‘That was just awesome”.

The songwriter was impressed .

“If you’re not in any hurry to move on , you’re more than welcome to stay here in the cottage for a while . I could use the company and I might get the chance to play some more on your guitar “

After a few moments thew songwriter said ,

“Ok I’m thinking I might take your offer . I’d love to stay for a while “

Ok great “

There’s a couch there if you’re ok to sleep there “

“Hey , the song writer stayed playing a song he wrote called Home sweet home .“

After a few weeks things were working out ok and the stationmaster said .

“I’m thinking of turning the cottage here into a recording studio .I used to do a little sound engineering in my younger years and you know this place is an ideal place to do some recording “

“Wow that’s an awesome idea . I’ve been writing some new songs since moving in here . There’s a nice presence about this place. It’s been very inspirational for me “

“I rang a man this morning who is selling a professional mixing desk . He’s almost giving it away . It’s a bargain . Let’s go and pick it up “.

“Ok sure . I‘ll put some money towards hiring a truck “

“No need , there’s a small truck in the shed nearby that I can use “

They made their way to the shed and got the truck and later on in the day they went to pick up the mixing desk   It was big and heavy and it took a lot of strength to carry it but with determination they set it up in the new recording studio in the cottage Within a few weeks most of the other equipment was bought . Mics and stands , cables and monitors . Keyboards and computers and they were ready to start recording . Both of them were writing and recording and after 12 months they finished their project , called Waiting For A Train . The music was released and came very popular . As a result, they were offered a three year recording contract by a major music publisher . The stationmaster quit his job and the travelling songwriter had somewhere else to go on the road performing and promoting the songs on the very successful album “Waiting For  A Trian” .

 

The End