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Avoiding the Black Train

One nation under God is said daily across the fifty states. Christianity is the prevalent religion reigning over our lands. Churches unite the Christian communities across the country and bring together the millions of Americans that worship the Lord. The Christian community is one I’m blessed to belong to. Country music has always been the top genre of music to subtly praise God almost as much as the Christian genre of music itself. Most country artists have at least one song that relates to their faith or lumps Christianity and being an American into one.  I admire country music for that. Rarely do artists in other popular genres of music proclaim their faith as often as most of my favorite country artists do.

As a Christian, I strive to associate my actions with my faith. I aim at being a humble, good person in all aspects of my life. However, in today’s society, it’s all too easy to fall into bad habits and unfriendly behaviors. There’s a specific country song that comes to mind as I talk about the traps of society in relation to staying true to my faith. Not surprisingly, it’s a song by the good-boy, Christian, charming, mesmerizing voice of Josh Turner called “Long Black Train.” The music video on YouTube alone boasts a whopping ten million views.

josh turnerTurner’s deep, silky smooth voice hums the tunes about a long train that feeds off the souls of those lost and sad people. The rails of the train track are made of sin and evil and Turner warns us to steer clear of the train as it nears us. Turner then tells us that there’s redemption, peace, and protection if we just choose to look to the heavens and burn our tickets to the black train.

“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.” Turner’s use of the metaphor of the black train as all the temptations and evil in the world paints a vivid image of darkness Christians struggle to avoid on a daily basis. But not to fear, because Turner’s welcoming murmur reminds us that the Lord is always here to protect us.

The engineer on the train, later in the song revealed to be the devil, drives the train around and tempts us to hop on, making us wonder if it wouldn’t just be easier to give in and join the others on the long black train. I believe this song became so popular with Turner’s fans and country music fans all over the world as they listened to the meaning of this song because it paints a vivid scene of the daily struggles every Christian faces as we try to follow the Word of God while being tempted by numerous evils daily.

josh turner 2Most Christian country fans will find this tune a lovely reminder to our daily struggles, but country music fans that aren’t of the same faith may take offense to the praises this song emanates. While some country songs very subtly praise the Lord, this song focuses solely on faith and the redemption of the Lord, along with the temptations the world presents us with daily. I think even people that aren’t Christians can relate to the daily temptations and the metaphor of the black train Turner speaks of. This may be another reason why the song was and still is one of Turner’s fan favorites. The overall message can prove relatable to any person, honestly.

I have such a soft spot for this song and the meaning behind it. It’s a song I can play any day and never get sick of it. Plus, who wouldn’t love listening to josh Turner’s deep, handsome voice singing about his faith. I sure could daily, on repeat, every day. Did I mention I could listen to it every day?  You get the point…

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