Can you hear that lonesome whippoorwill

And Country music, in particular, is really good for helping people understand each other. The kids seemed to get it. After singing the first verse, I spied a student or two wiping tears from their eyes. As the song continued, I saw several children begin to weep.

By the end of the third and final verse, all but a few of the kids were fully sobbing. At first, I was worried that I might have made a terrible mistake asking vulnerable children to sing such an emotionally powerful song, but then I noticed most of them were actually smiling through their tears.

And note that it isn't just any train, but the "midnight" train, adding just another touch of the forlorn and lonesome. The moon certainly has a face -- everyone knows about "the man in the moon" -- but it taking it a step further to have him hide his face behind a cloud to cry. Again, I can see it in my mind's eye.

Tommy Stevenson is retired associate editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at tommystevenson45 gmail. Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly The midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry.

I've never seen a night so long When time goes crawling by The moon Hear that lonesome whippoorwill he sounds too blue to fly The midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long when time goes crawling by The moon Hear that lonesome whippoorwill he sounds too blue to fly The midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've ever seen a night so long when time goes crawling by The moon Seasick Steve: Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly And that midnight train is whinin' low I'm so lonesome I could cry Amy LaVere: Did you ever see a night so long When time goes crawlin' by The moon just Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds to blue to fly That midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long when time goes crawling by The moon Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly That midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long when time goes crawling by The moon Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly The midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long When time goes crawling by The moon Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly That midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long When time goes crawlin' by The moon Hear that lonesome whippoorwill he sounds too blue to fly That midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long when time goes crawling by The moon Hear that lonesome Whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly The midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long When time goes crawling by The moon just went behind a cloud I'm so lonesome I could Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly The midnight train is riding low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long When time goes crawling by The moon I hear that lonesome whippoorwill She sounds too blue to fly The midnight train is whining low I'm so lonesome I could cry Did you ever see a night so long As time goes crawling by The moon just went behind Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly That means he's lost the will to live I'm so lonesome I could cry Did you ever see a night so slow As time goes draggin' by The moon just went behind