I rode the train home from school

I Rode the Train Home

Verse 1
Seventh grade at Brentwood,
Home of the Wildcats then,
Tracks ran down by Hancock Lane,
A shortcut home again.
Those freights rolled slow and easy,
So we’d grab on for a ride,
Jump off down at Oakfield Road,
And walk the rest in stride.

Chorus
I rode the train home,
Twelve years old and hanging on,
Steel wheels singing underneath me,
Like nothing could go wrong.
Saved a couple miles of walking,
Had a story I could claim—
While everybody rode the school bus,
I rode home on a train.

Verse 2
Did it maybe twelve times,
Had the whole thing figured out:
Hancock Lane to Oakfield Road,
That’s what the ride was all about.
Then one day Oakfield came and went,
And that freight began to fly—
I held on tight and watched my stop
Go rolling right on by.

Chorus
I rode the train home—
Well, I meant to ride it home,
But the damn thing kept on rolling,
And now I was along for the roam.
No ticket and no backup plan,
Just hanging on for life—
Twelve years old and learning fast
Those slow trains don’t stay slow.

Bridge
Five miles, six miles,
Seven, eight, nine—
Adventure ain’t as funny
When you’re stuck along for the ride.
Near Chemstrand Road it slowed at last,
And luck was on my side—
Uncle Dick lived close enough.
I knew just where to hide.

Verse 3
I called my mother from Uncle Dick’s.
She came and picked me up.
She wore me out the whole way home—
Apparently she’d heard enough.
Then came those famous words that meant
My troubles weren’t quite through:
“Wait until your father gets home.”
What’s a twelve-year-old to do?

Final Chorus
But I rode the train home,
At least that was the plan,
No ticket punched, no schedule,
Just a boy hanging on with both hands.
I lost my freedom for a while,
But earned a lifelong claim—
Everybody else rode the school bus.
I rode home on a train.

Outro
They probably laughed when I wasn’t around.
They just never let me know.
Probably smart—
At twelve years old,
I’d have done it again tomorrow.