Stopped on the tracks
Not moving forward, not moving back
Emergency work up ahead
Shoring up the ballast in the track bed
Stopped in the road
Some truck dropped its load
See the wreckage all twisted and gnarled
And for now, all the traffic is snarled
We’re stopped
Far away from any way station
We’re stopped
In a sea of static aggravation
Stopped, middle of nowhere
Helicopters hanging in midair
This must be something tremendous
Horrific and horrendous
Stopped on the way to the city
The picture isn’t looking pretty
All the arteries are clogged
Any movement is just bogged
We’re stopped
No ride could ever be smooth
We’re stopped
Why the hell can’t we just move
Stopped on the tracks
Can’t go forward, can’t go back
Too many trains where the tracks merge
Not enough maneuvering room where the tracks diverge
Stopped, on the way home
Stuck in an unknown nether zone
Why the hell aren’t we moving
The whole fakakteh system needs some improving
We’re stopped
Ever other way is going faster
We’re stopped
Along with everything before and after
©2024 The Hesh Inc.
This lyric dates back to the latter half of the 2000s, while I was still living at the Jersey Shore but commuting via New Jersey Transit into New York City. Four hours a day between my home and my office, two hours each way, and that's without getting stopped. With my spare time so precious, even the slightest delay is too much. And by extension, getting stopped on the tracks becomes a metaphor for getting stopped in life, unable to make any progress. Written as part of a whole slew of commute-related songs on my morning commute during that era, when it was all so new to me. Never recorded or performed.