An inaugural member and collaborator with CFM had a remarkable story of his grandfather that was worthy of a song. His grandfather, from a small rural central Georgia town, spent more than 40 years managing work crews for onsite construction of rail lines across the Southeast. He would be gone for days and even weeks living beside the rails with his crews laying the steel rails over previously installed railroad ties. Part of that process of laying rails included “trueing the rails” which was essentially making sure they were uniformly spaced along the entire line and would not lead to a future derailment of a train.
His family had to endure and thrive during long passages of time when he was out on the job.
One of his favorite sayings to his children and grandchildren when educating them on the importance of disciplined living was to “true your rails” when they wandered.
LYRICS
Down in Senoia where the red clay lies
Was a man named Albert..had weathered eyes
But little ones made the name their own
So they called him Agate everywhere he stood
And Mama Stelle, with her table wide
Kept faith and supper and the Lord inside
Oh, trued rails, steady and true
Straight through the valley, and straight for you
Clickety-clack o'er the best lines sail
Life is a journey better on trued rails
At every crossing where choices may fail
Lord, lead us home on the trued rails
Agate went working where steel lines run
'Neath the heat of the south…plenty of sun
With gandy bars and a steady hand
He shaped the spine of a growing land
Fifty long years on the iron track
His heart stayed true, never turned his back
Oh, trued rails, steady and true
Straight through the valley, and straight for you
Clickety-clack o'er the best lines sail
Life is a journey, better on trued rails
At every crossing where choices may fail
Lord, lead us home on trued rails
Those gandy dancers worked on the line
Moving the world one steel at a time
Lever and rhythm, sweat and song
Nothing crooked, just tracks run strong
And every joint, every iron seam
Was a promise built on a working dream
Back home Mama Stelle held fast to grace
Three sons beneath her table's place
One left early, as children do
But love stayed strong…the line stayed true
Serving the best fried chicken and pound cake sweet
Come Sundays, made the circle complete
Oh, trued rails, steady and true
Straight through the valley, and straight for you
Clickety-clack o'er the best lines sail
Life is a journey better on trued rails
At every crossing where choices may fail
Lord, lead us home on the trued rails
At every crossroads the question comes near
Which line is faithful, which path is clear
And Agate whispered through calloused hands
Stay on the line that the Good Lord plans
Now the whistle fades in the evening sky
But the rails they laid will never die
In every story the old ones tell
Their lives still echo where the true lines fell
Oh, trued rails, steady and true
Straight through the valley, and straight for you
Clickety-clack o'er the best lines sail
Life is a journey better on trued rails
At every crossing where choices may fail
Lord, lead us home on the trued rails