[Verse 1] Dawn cracks, skull knocks the beam, Matchbox rattles, rust-wired dream. Coffee spits wild on a coal-box ring, Rain laughs sharp at the roof’s thin skin. Six-string wedged in a crate too small, Strings bite back—hear the night-siren call. [Chorus] Oh, this matchbox freight, sealed and shakin’ thin, Iron-dust sizzle like embers on the wind. Smoke from the flue twists through splintered seams, Cravin’ boundless rails, yet chained to my frame. Fidget-struck and foolish, I’m haulin’ it all— Soul’s sunken cargo, strife’s shadow haul. This matchbox freight keeps rumblin’ me raw, I’ll reed-wail ragged till the panels scorch it all. [Verse 2] Knee cracks tin, brew floods the floor, Neighbor’s flare pounds on the rattlin’ door. Pipes keep groanin’, cylinders moan, Iron-tongue whispers say “you don’t belong.” Load groans heavy, sky splits wide, Shadows lean long where the lamplight hides. [Chorus] Oh, this matchbox freight, sealed and shakin’ thin, Iron-dust sizzle like embers on the wind. Smoke from the flue twists through splintered seams, Cravin’ boundless rails, yet chained to my frame. Fidget-struck and foolish, I’m haulin’ it all— Soul’s sunken cargo, strife’s shadow haul. This matchbox freight keeps rumblin’ me raw, I’ll reed-wail ragged till the panels scorch it all. [Bridge] One spark in this crush, and I’ll bolt through the hatch, Dump deadweight from this cramped dispatch. No more coiled visions in a boxcar cage, I’ll latch to the skyline, unspool this rage. Till that signal shrills sharp through the gloom, I’ll grin at the scramble, strum in the fumes. This tinderbox train is my rattlin’ core— Grand spirit in a small sphere, shreddin’ it sore. [Verse 3] Midnight strikes, drizzle scars the pane, Steel limbs stretch, but the lines loop chain. Axes in the aft, speakers hum dim, Chasin’ that stride as the iron wears thin. Someday I’ll spark and this wagon will blaze, Scatter the slag, slip free of its cage. For now, I smirk through the soot, cinders drift loose, Tinder-hold hums steady—one veer, one truce. [Final Chorus - ad-libs] Oh, this matchbox freight, sealed and shakin’ thin (yeah, shakin’ thin…), Iron-dust sizzle like embers on the wind (embers risin’ high…). Smoke from the flue twists through splintered seams, Cravin’ boundless rails, yet chained to my frame (anchored but aspired…). Fidget-struck and foolish, I’m haulin’ it all, Soul’s sunken cargo, strife’s shadow haul. This matchbox freight keeps rumblin’ me raw, I’ll reed-wail ragged till the panels scorch it all (scorch it all!).
