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The Christmas Train

by The Heathen And The Holy

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about

2022 - In a The Heathen And The Holy first, Tom, recovering from routine ankle surgery and heavily dosed up on powerful opioids, had a fever dream of a train flying through the air, with Hercule Poirot and Paddington Bear onboard. “The Christmas Train” virtually wrote itself. Clad in striped pyjamas, his plaster-cast foot held resolutely in the air Tom, like his tank engine namesake, refused to be beat, valiantly recording all his string and vocal parts from his sick bed. But it was not all jollity. For all the Christmas revellers in the song, some perennial, some just happy to be there, the manifest of passengers also revealed “a frail old lady in a colourful hat” - a touching tribute to our late monarch. RIP Ma’am.

lyrics

Over the hill and around the bend,
An old steam train painted gold and red,
She rides these tracks only once a year,
Can you hear her in the distance?

The gleaming lights, The polished brass,
The bottles clink in the buffet car,
Her whistle blows through the valley wide,
You can hear it if you listen…

Through sleet or snow, through wind or hail
Through rain or shine, she’ll never fail, she’s
Bang on time!

All aboard the Christmas train!
Destination: Christmas Day,
Bring your joy and laughter here,
This engine runs on Christmas cheer. Next stop: King’s Cross Station

There’s a nerdy boy with a curious scar,
A belgian man with a waxed moustache,
A guy called Buddy dressed as an elf:
The patrons are diverse.

A chap called Rudolph with a shiny nose,
A talking bear in a duffel coat,
A jolly fellow in a red and white suit,
Says he’s on his way to work,

If there’s no strike today, or wrong kind of snow,
Leaves on the line, doesn’t he know that she’s
Bang on time!

All aboard the Christmas train!
Destination: Christmas Day,
Bring your joy and laughter here,
This engine runs on Christmas cheer.

We’re leaving the city behind,
The fields and the trees pass us by,
There’s no track below us, nothing can stop us now,
We’re heading up into the sky… All aboard!

Next stop: Paris Mais oui! Bof
Next stop: Madrid Ole!
Next stop: Bethlehem…

A Mum and Dad with a baby child,
They struggle on, they look so tired,
At least they’ll find some comfort here,
Heaven knows what they’ve been through,

A frail old lady in a colourful hat,
A corgi sitting on her lap,
She’s off to see her husband now,
It’s been a year or two…

Even when your race is run,
And darkness blocks the Winter’s sun,
Through sleet or snow, through wind or hail
Through rain or shine, she will prevail, she’s
Bang on time! Bang on time!

All aboard the Christmas train!
Destination: Christmas Day,
Bring your joy and laughter here,
This engine runs on Christmas cheer.
All aboard the Christmas train!
Destination: Christmas Day,
If you’re low on fuel then have no fear,
This engine runs on Christmas cheer.
This engine runs on Christ-mas cheeeer!

credits

released December 13, 2022
Fred Abbott - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Piano
Tom Hobden - Vocals, Strings
Tom Figgins - BVs
Charlie Abbott - BVs
Nick Etwell - Trumpet
Recorded at Cloud 9 studio

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The Heathen And The Holy London, UK

Purveyors of the World's finest Christmas songs since 2014, Tom Hobden and Fred Abbott of indie folk legends Noah And The Whale.

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