Verse 1: The midnight express will be late here tonight.
So side-track the Westbound freight.
Those were the orders that Tom had received,
As he passed through the roundhouse gate.
Tom was the switchman, with heart true as steel,
And duty was first in his breast,
But the thought of his boy who was dying at home
Crazed Tom and he fell at his post.
Accelerando and agitato
The shrill whistle blew on the freight for the west,
The rumble was heard of the midnight express.

Chorus 1: Asleep at the switch, And no warning light,
To signal those trains, That rushed through the night.
When down to the switch, Ran Tom's daughter Nell,
The crisis had past [sic], His boy would get well.
She caught up the light, And waved it on high,
And side-tracked the westbound freight.
And the midnight express, All in safety flew by,
While Tom was asleep at the switch.

Verse 2: The freight slowly back'd on the main track again,
The men called to Tom good night.
Only the sob of a girl made reply,
And they saw by the engines light.
Tom lying flat at his post where he fell,
And there with her head in his breast,
Was his brave daughter Nell who had saved all their lives,
And those on the midnight express.
Accelerando and agitato
Each man on the freight for the west bared his head
For Tom's heart had stopped at his post, he lay dead.

Chorus 2: Asleep at the switch, The president read,
And my wife and child, Were on board he said.
But as he read on, His stern face relaxed,
This road shall reward, Such heroic acts.
He sat at his desk, And fill'd out a check,
And sent it with all dispatch
'Twas for Tom's daughter Nell, For her brave deed that night,
While he slept his last sleep at the switch