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 Send "Driver 8" Ringtone to your Cell 
Fables Of The Reconstruction (1985)
The walls are built up stone by stone
The fields divided, one by one
And the train conductor says
Take a break, driver 8
Driver 8, take a break
We've been on this shift too long
And the train conductor says
Take a break, driver 8
Driver 8, take a break
We can reach our destination
But we're still a ways away, but it's still a ways away
I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm
The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged
The bells are ringing through the town again
The children look up, all they hear is sky-blue bells ringing
And the train conductor says
Take a break, driver 8
Driver 8, take a break
We can reach our destination
But we're still a ways away, but it's still a ways away
But we're still a ways away, but it's still a ways away
A way to shield the hated heat
A way to put myself to sleep
A way to shield the hated heat
A way to put myself, my children to sleep
He piloted this song in a plane like that one
She is selling faith on the Go Tell Crusade
Locomotive 8 Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again
Field to wheat is looking thin
And the train conductor says
Take a break, driver 8
Driver 8, take a break
We've been on this shift too long
And the train conductor says
Take a break, driver 8
Driver 8, take a break
We can reach our destination
But we're still a ways away, but it's still a ways away
But we're still a ways away, but it's still a ways away
The walls are built up stone by stone
the fields divided one by one.
And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8 Driver 8 take a break
We've been on this shift too long"
And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8 Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination but we're still a ways away"
I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm.
The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged.
Bells are ringing through the town again,
Children look up, all they hear is sky-blue, bells ringing
And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away"
Way to shield the hated heat.
Way to put myself to sleep.
Way to shield the hated heat.
Way to put myself, my children to sleep.
He piloted this song in a plane like that one.
She is selling faith on the Go Tell crusade.
Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again.
Field to weed is lookin' thin
And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We've been on this shift too long."
And the train conductor says
"Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away
Send "Driver 8" Ringtone to your Cell
*performed and/or possibly written by
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| About this ... | - This uses a series of minor chords that guitarist Peter Buck would use again on "The One I Love," "Losing My Religion," and "Bang and Blame," among others.
- There were several versions attempted before settling on the studio one we all know and love. On The Cutting Edge, an early MTV program, R.E.M. performed a version of this with acoustic guitars and a banjo. On tour, before this album was recorded, they played a much heavier version of the song.
- The song is about a train engineer who is over-worked and urged by the conductor to take a break. That message could be applied to many facets of life. Trains were chosen according to Buck because the band grew up near the train tracks. According to lead singer Michael Stipe it's because they represent part of "mythological America."
- A harmonica is used to mimic the sound of a train whistle.
- The video for the song was made before Stipe was comfortable lip-synching, so it is comprised almost entirely of footage of trains.
- A live version recorded in Seattle, Washington on June 27, 1984 appears on the edition of Fables with bonus tracks that were released in 1992.
- In the UK, this was never released as a single. It didn't chart in the US.
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