BALLAD:
BETWEEN THE BOX CARS
(1923)
I
I can't even remember the name of the one who fell
Flat on
his
ass, on the cinders, between the box cars.
I can't even remember whether he got off
his
yell
Before what happened had happened between the box cars.
But whether or not he managed to get off
his
yell,
I remember its shape on his mouth, between the box cars,
And
it
was the shape that yours would be too if you fell
Flat on your ass, on the cinders, between the box cars.
And one other thing I remember perfectly well,
You go for the grip at the front, not the back, of the box cars.
Miss
the front, you're knocked off-miss the back, you never
can tell
But you're flat on your ass, on the cinders, between the box cars.
He was fifteen and old enough to know perfectly well
You
try
for the grip at the front, not the back, of the box cars,
But he was the kind of smart-aleck you always can tell
Will end flat on
his
ass, on the cinders, between the box cars.
Suppose I remembered
his
name, then what the hell
Good
would
it
do him now between the box cars?
But it might mean something to me if I could tell
You the name of the one who fell between the box cars.
