They grew up in the shadow of the armory Land of freedom right out their back door Brothers near the middle of the century One of them had to go and fight the war Somebody had to go and fight the war And the train goes... So he left upon the rails toward Ohiopyle Youghiogheny flows around the bend He told his mother someday he'd be coming home The medals shine and the stars never end But nobody counts on scars that never mend And the train goes... Cast iron wheels go hungry in the fields Searching for that silver line a long, long way to go Cast iron hearts go hungry for spare parts Searching for a hand to hold on late night radio He flew missions out of London into Germany In letters she read once then locked away With a picture of him smiling at the armory The colors in that flag all washed away It's just black and white and a hundred shades of gray And the train goes... That's the way it goes