The Jupiter & The 119 Songtext
von Railroad Earth

The Jupiter is gleaming ... shining in the sun
Everybody ready for the great cross country run
Tell me have you heard the story goin' down the wire ... goin' down the line?

She's ready to be going ... breathing smoke & steam
She edges on the iron and the crowd begins to scream
Tell me have you heard the story of the Jupiter ... and the 119?

They fire off the cannons ... she blows a whistle blast
Goes flying round the corner moving strong and moving fast
Tell me have you heard the story goin' down the wire ... goin' down the line?
Tell me have you heard the story of the Jupiter ... and the 119?

The Jupiter is on the run ... heading for the setting sun
And when she rests, the east and west are tied
Wooooo ... wooooo

Off from California ... from the Sacramento yard
The 119 is moving ... pushing strong and pushing hard
She's through the snowy mountains ... took them right in stride
Crested the sierra & went down the other side
Tell me have you heard the story going down the wire ... going down the line?


Across the grassed horizon ... across the giant plain
Across a thousand miles of iron roars the mighty U.P. train
She tops the Sherman summit ... a mighty feat of man
Sails through echo canyon and across the dale creek span

Tell me have you heard the story going down the wire ... going down the line?

Through the fiery desert ... the 119 has run
Through the devil's gorge ... beneath the blazing fiery sun
Through tunnels and through canyons cleared by shovel & by pick
10, 000 men who blasted, clawed and hauled with muscles thick
Tell me have you heard the story going down the wire ... going down the line?
Tell me have you heard the story of the Jupiter ... and the 119?

The Jupiter is on the run ... heading for the setting sun
And when she rests, the east and west are tied
Wooooo ... wooooo ... woo ... woo ... wooooo


They've met in promontory ... from the east and west they're here
All across the country they've raised a mighty cheer
The mighty trains are polished ... on the tracks they proudly rest
The crowd's all gathered round them dressed up in their Sunday best
A big brass band is playing ... it's a bright unclouded day
The speaker's oratory ... and the bosses have their say
The reverend says a prayer ... it's mercifully short
The drunken rail-men laugh and the iron horses snort
The engines move in closer... they ease in down the line
The champagne bottles pop ... so fill your glass it's toasting time
The engines ease for meeting ... nose to nose alike
They raise the silver hammer and they nail the golden spike
Tell me have you heard the story going down the wire ... going down the line?
Tell me have you heard the story of the Jupiter ... and the 119?
Wooooo ... wooooo ... wooooo ... wooooo