How Long

I get carried along after midnight
 In the sound of the train on the tracks
 Where the rails run alongside the river
 And the water can never come back
 And the headlight is scanning the valley
 As the valley runs South from town
 And it wakes me where I have been sleeping
 With my window shade pulled down
 If my window's a mile from the river
 And if the engine sounds deep and low
 Then how long 'till I feel any closer
 To what's rumbling in my soul?
 How Long? Feeling it every day
 How Long? It's always a ways away
 How deep is the river that's flowing?
 How strong is the pull downstream?
 How far is the train engine going?
 How long have I had the same dream?
 Is there something that moves like a river
 Is there something that pulls like a train
 Is there something that rumbles in darkness
 And I don't even know it by name
 Is there some way to measure the distance
 Was it close to my heart all along
 And what is the voice that keeps asking
 How strong, how far, how long