Last Train To Tallulah Falls Lyrics

Well I bought my ticket on a hot summers day

For the old TFR line such a scenic railway

Headed up to Franklin along that rackety track

The engine puffed slow and there's no turning back

Locals called it "Total Failure" but I called it my ride

The rails might groan and sigh but never hurt my pride

A little shake rattle and roll with a whole lotta grit

Old engine number 78 endured though few could see fit

It's the very last train through Tallulah Falls

Through the mountains hear her whistle call

Steam and sparks light up the blue ridge night

Rolling through history best you hold on tight

The fire of 1921 put the town in a haze

Tallulah burned bright in those dreadful days

The depot still stood though the heartbreak was real

While the river whispered secrets the flames couldn't steal

From Tiger through Clayton down to the Gorge's edge

Along the wooden trestles every twist and every wedge

The stories they linger like the rails' iron scars

And old worn down engines that couldn't take me far

It's the very last train through Tallulah Falls

Through the mountains hear her whistle call

Steam and sparks light up the blue ridge night

Rolling through history best you hold on tight!

They hauled freight and dreams on that old crooked line

Moonshine and peaches in a much simpler time

They said it wouldn't last and sure enough it fell

But I still hear the whistle like a long-lost rebel yell

Now the tracks are long gone and the stories remain

Of derailments and laughter the love the pain

Clayton remembers and Dillard does too

The "Total Failure" was once the best thing we all knew

So here's to the engineers and the brakemen bold

To the passengers shivering in that mountain cold

The last caboose through Tallulah may be long gone

But her spirit rolls on and we fondly sing her song!