It is unfortunate but a little theological history is
necessary to delve properly into this song.
First and hopefully obvious is that “Old Charlie” is an archaic euphemism
for the devil. Since this is the focus
of the chorus it is important but more on that later. The next item and more in keeping with the
religious theme of the B side is and understanding of who the “all time loser”
is.
In the ultimate struggle for the souls of men it is the
devil who is also the ultimate loser.
From a theological perspective the entire thing begins with Lucifer’s
rebellion against God and his interference with men. The “all time winner” then is God. It was Lucifer who led the rebellion against
God and “caught” the angels who fell with him.
“Gideon’s Bible” is a reference to the organization called The Gideons who are
known for leaving Bibles in hotel rooms.
Page one would be the first chapter of Genesis. This is significant in that the first line of
Genesis is simply, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
With this as the backdrop it seems clear to me that the
story is simple. How it impacted me is
not so simple. I did not have the same
impact on me back then. I did not have
the theology to understand the song and because of life I saw myself as “the all-time
loser.”
Anger and pain combined with this feeling set me on a path toward
destruction. It would be at the last
moment when I found that I would rather live.
Locomotive Breath – Ian
Anderson
In the shuffling
madness
Of the locomotive
breath
Runs the all-time
loser
Headlong to his death
Oh, he feels the
piston scraping
Steam breaking on his
brow
Old Charlie stole the
handle
And the train, it
won't stop going
No way to slow down
Oh, oh
He sees his children
jumping off
At stations one by one
His woman and his best
friend
In bed an' having fun
Oh, he's crawling down
the corridor
On his hands and knees
Old Charlie stole the
handle
And the train, it
won't stop going
No way to slow down
Yeah, yeah
He hears the silence
howling
And catches angels as
they fall
And the all-time winner
Has got him by the
balls
Oh, he picks up
Gideon's Bible
Open at page one
I thank God, he stole
the handle
And the train, it
won't stop going
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store."
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