She's walking the railroad
She's walking away
She stares over the sleepers,
the tracks start to join.
Right off in the distance
at the end of the bridge
there's mist off the water
her breath bites the air.
She's taking her girls away from that town
They smiled when they told her
With puritan grace
You can't raise your children
If you're living alone
But the webs on the window
the slush on the ground
the ice and the cold
the furnace and dust.
She's taking her girls away from that town
Now they're out on the river, 
rowing away from the town,
the homeless set round fires
on the side of the lake.
And they sang as they sailed
She stared at the sky
and the boat filled with water
but only so far.
She's taking her girls away from that town