Gather Round - The Iron Ore Train by Peter Rothbart

In the 1960s, the government of Mauritania subsidized the construction of a rail line that runs about 500 miles between the country's interior iron mines and one of its ports on the Atlantic coast. To this day, the Mauritanian Railway supports some of the longest and heaviest trains in the world, with each one carrying more than enough ore to construct the Eiffel tower.
While its primary purpose is to move what comes out of the mines, anyone willing to brave the open desert (and other dangers) can hitch a ride right on top of the ore. As a result, the train has become somewhat of a destination for adventure travelers, but more importantly, it has become the lifeblood of the tiny, remote communities along its route that, without it, would have no connection to the outside world. That vital role the Mauritanian Railway plays in the region has earned it the nickname "Backbone of the Sahara," but it's more commonly known by a much less poetic name that's also the title i chose for this song: The Iron Ore Train.
LYRICS
You’ll hear the couplers knocking and the flanges start to whine
Ten and seven thousand tons leaving from the Zouérat mine
Can't see one end from the other, two hundred cars or more
Heading west to the Atlantic, piled high with iron ore
C Feel the rumble, taste the stone
Watch the rail slide by below
‘Cross the sands of Mauritane’
Riding on the Iron Ore Train
There's a carriage you can ride in If you have the means to pay
Else you're perching in a hopper on a rock pile all the way
Meeting traders, thrill-seekers and those who dwell along the route
‘Cause for some, it’s an adventure, and for others, a commute
No shade, no cover from the screaming tropic sun
Breath dry as an oven in the dusty Harmattan
Robes and turbans, gloves and goggles shelter every inch of skin
But the ore is ground to powder, so fine it seeps right in
The twilight temperature plummets, and you trundle into the dark
Passing Choum and Ben Amera under blankets and the stars
Wagons rocking, dunes shifting, diesel humming through the night
To rise again at daybreak stained the color of hematite
At the port in Nouadhibou, out to sea the ore will go
Then it’s one turn round the balloon track, and back for another load
Running freight over desert, twenty hours every day
The backbone of the Sahara, the Mauritanian Railway

[@jacobforsterrothbart]

Amazing (as always)!
Love from MN,
Jacob

[@sapanparekh3327]

Fantastic, Peter! What a great arrangement!

[@kevinmccloskey8810]

Sounds amazing!