“Don’t Go Ridin’ On That Long Black Train”
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesCountry music has always been one of my favorite genres of music, simply because its lyrics usually express some kind of moral truth. The following such lyrics are those expressed in Josh Turner’s “Long Black Train.”
Closely observe the words:
There’s a long black train comin’ down the line,
Feeding off the souls that are lost and cryin’.
Rails of sin, only evil remains.
Watch out, brother, for that long black train.
Look to the heaven’s, you can look to the sky.
You can find redemption staring back into your eyes.
There is protection and there’s peace the same:
Burnin’ your ticket for that long black train.
‘Cause there’s victory in the Lord, I say.
Victory in the Lord.
Cling to the Father and His Holy name,
And don’t go ridin’ on that long black train.
There’s an engineer on that long black train,
Makin’ you wonder if the ride is worth the pain.
He’s just a-waitin’ on your heart to say:
“Let me ride on that long black train.”
But you know there’s victory in the Lord, I say.
Victory in the Lord.
Cling to the Father and His Holy name,
And don’t go ridin’ on that long black train.
Well, I can hear the whistle from a mile away.
It sounds so good but I must stay away.
That train is a beauty makin’ everybody stare,
But its only destination is the middle of nowhere.
But you know there’s victory in the Lord, I say.
Victory in the Lord.
Cling to the Father and His Holy name,
And don’t go ridin’ on that long black train.
I said cling to the Father and His Holy name,
And don’t go ridin’ on that long black train.
Yeah, watch out brother for that long black train.
That devil’s drivin’ that long black train.
Folks, that long black train in the above song, is representative of the world’s allurements and sin (1 John 2:15-16). The train‘s whistle sounds so good and inviting, “It’s a beauty, makin’ everybody stare,” the lyrics say.
The devil (the engineer of that long black train) deceives folks through various means (Revelation 12:7-9; cf. John 8:44; Genesis 3:1-5), such as beer commercials, to “Get all the gusto you can” — showing everyone being happy and enjoying life to its fullest.
However, those same beer commercials do not show the broken homes, the mangled bodies after head-on collisions, the lives destroyed, or the pain inflicted upon innocent people. They don’t show a baby on the way without benefit of marriage. They don’t show aborted babies. They don’t show folks on mind and body altering drugs and the horrible consequences of taking those drugs.
Dear reader, the only destination that long black train will take you to is, as the lyrics say, “the middle of nowhere” — it’s a dead-end destination with no hope (contrast with hope that sustains).
Rather, as the lyrics emphasize, we need to “Cling to the Father and His Holy name, And don’t go ridin’ on that long black train” — for “the ride is not worth the pain.”
As the lyrics strongly suggest, we need to “Look to the heaven’s, you can look to the sky” (Colossians 3:1-2). “You can find redemption staring back into your eyes“ (Ephesians 1:1-7).
Yes, “There is protection (Romans 8:1) and there’s peace the same” (Romans 5:1), when we “burn our ticket for that long black train” of sin and death (Romans 6:23), and render immediate obedience (Romans 6:17-18) to the Lord’s salvation plan for our life (Acts 8:25-39; Acts 10:34-48; Acts 16:14-15; Acts 17:25-34; Acts 22:12-16), so that we can claim “Victory in the Lord” (1 John 5:4; 1 Corinthians 15:55-58; Revelation 15:2-4).
If we haven’t already, let’s claim “Victory in the Lord” today, shall we? (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).
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