She was a young and pretty Coleman County farm girl
Never been more than fifty miles from home
I was just a drifter I was living off the land
Spent the summer on her daddy's farm.

In the evening we'd walk along the railroad
We'd hear that lonesome whistle in the night
And she'd pretend we road the rails to Denver
'Cause her head was full of flashin' neon lights.

Twas that big old shiny diesel as it rounded Carter's bend
Was enough to make a young girl want to roam
She'd pretend she rode those shiny rails all around the world
And had the Texas Silver Zephyr bring her home.

As summer work was over and restless got to me
I kept talkin' bout the places I would go
Then her young head got to spinnin' for the things she'd never seen
So she followed me to Denver in the fall.

Then jobs got scarce in central Colorado
And then the winter nights got awful cold
Just one old army blanket was the only one we had
No money for the oil to run the stove.

Yes, that big old shiny diesel as it rounded Carter's bend
Was enough to make a young girl want to roam
But through all those hungry nights the only promise that I made
I had the Texas Silver Zephyr take her home.

When she started feelin' bad she didn't tell me
She had a way of keepin' problems all her own
So I didn't know her troubles with the baby
Before I could get a doctor she was gone.

Lord, I know it's not the way she really wanted things to be
In her dreams she had a pullman all her own
But she'd be proud of me to know I kept my promise
And had the Texas Silver Zephyr take her home.

And had the Texas Silver Zephyr take her home...