Can't Beat The Damned Old Machine

(album: Night Hawk - 2016)

I met an old cowboy
From Long Pine, Nebraska
He was staring out after a slow moving train
The station was empty, and we got to talking
He poured out his heart to me in the rain

He said, “Son, I remember the wide open prairies
When all a man could carry was all he would own
But they branded the land with titles and fences
And built up the cities where the free men once roamed

I rode with the best and we opened the West
Been places that few eyes have seen
When you're out there, in time, you just get left behind
'Cause you can't beat the damned ole machine

The words that he told me were cold as a tombstone
They cut to the bone and I prayed he was wrong
But I've heard it said ever since I was a small child
That cowboys and engines just don't get along

And you can't beat the damned ole machine
You can try, but you'll never succeed
And now there ain't no room for people like me
'Cause you can't beat the damned ole machine

No, you can't beat the damned ole machine
You can try, but you'll never succeed
And now there ain't no room for people like me, no more
And you can't beat the damned ole
You can't beat that damned ole
You can't beat the damned ole machine