In a two -room trailer down by the
tracks on the edge of a
Tennessee town,
Jesse
Clay lived with his lady and a one
-eyed red -boned hound.
And every night at twelve -oh -five
he'd hear that whistle whine.
Jesse knew the train to
Chattanooga was coming by on time.
And we all knew old
Jesse
Clay got mean when he drank too much
And
Jesse's lady wore the scars,
Miss
Not -Too -Gentle -Tough
And
Jesse knocked her down one night
just for bustin' a bottle of gin
She hit her head when she hit the floor
and she never got up again
Jesse
Clay was crazy scared when
he saw her lyin' still
He took his lady in his arms
and he carried her up the hill
He laid her down on a railroad track
just an hour ahead of the train
And
Jesse knew that soon the 1205
would take the plane
And then he went to town and he waited
around till he thought the time was right
And he told the law how the 1205
had taken his lady's life
The sheriff just looked at
Jesse hard and said you better
tell the truth this time
Because the 1205 just jumped the track
about ten miles up the line
And no one knows what caused
the train to leave the tracks that night
It never happened before or since,
but it served old
Jesse right
And you can still hear the train whistle
whine as it passes by this way
But the 1205 won't ever
take the blame for
Jesse
Clay
No, the 1205 won't ever
take the blame for
Jesse
Clay