Sandra September 1st, 2006 11:49AM  
I think the train is just a metaphor for life and in this song it’s the life of the “all-time loser”, who had nothing but bad luck in his life. He lost control over the train so it’s too fast and it will take him to his end. His children leave him and his wife’s sleeping with his best friend. There is no way to get out of this because “old charlie” has stolen the handle. That’s the most important part of the song, for it’s all “old charlie’s” fault that he lost control over his life. The name ‘charlie’ is used for cocaine, so that’s his problem: drugs.

This part is not very difficult to figure out. But it takes a lot more imagination to find out who’s the “all-time winner” who has “got him by the balls”.
In my opinion it’s god, for during his last moments he gives him a sermon, which he definitely doesn’t want to hear (for they sing “thank god he stole the handle”). But of course it can be anybody whom he dislikes and who just came at the height of his misery to say: “i told you so.”

anonymous September 15th, 2007 02:35AM  
Old Charlie... Charles Darwin

anonymous December 22nd, 2007 06:10PM  
* "'Locomotive Breath' is another song about dying, but it's not so serious as 'Slipstream'. It's an analogy of the unending train journey of life; you can't stop, you've got to stagger on. But it's not that serious. All of the songs have an element of humour, and sometimes pure silliness".
* Ian Anderson in Disc and Music Echo, 20th March 1971

* This song is about modern man ("the all-time loser"), who can hardly keep up with the pace of life in our society ("locomotive breath"). He suffers from all kinds of desillusions, alienation and solitude, cannot get hold of his own life and in the end resorts to religion: "he picks up Gideons Bible, open at page one", in the hope to find a solution. The verseline "The train won't stop going, no way to slow down" symbolizes his/our life that goes on and on without a pause until we inevitably die. At this place in the bible one will find the book of Genesis in which is described how the universe, the world and all living beings on it were created. Roland Tarmo points out that "old Charlie" is a reference to Charles Darwin and his evolution theory, that offered a scientific alternative for the unconditional belief in creation as worded in Genesis, thus questioning the self-evidentness of this belief. In other words: he "stole the handle", that for centuries had defined men's position. I assume that "the all-time winner" refers to God.
"Gideon" is the organisation that aims at spreading the Bible by having it placed in public buildings like hotels.
* Jan Voorbij

All information taken from www.cupofwonder.com

anonymous March 30th, 2008 07:30PM  
Why would Ian Anderson care about the stupid wars that the united states wages?

anonymous July 28th, 2008 09:50AM  
Sort of on the right track above; about an "all-time loser", seems to be hard up on luck. But I think it leans more in the direction of this character looking for someone to blame.

"Charlie" (I imagine) would be too modern a term for cocaine, which wasn't all that widely used at the time. It most certainly ISN'T in reference to VC! It can, though, be used in the slang sense of just meaning *someone*, as in "so-and-so" or "some bugger". In the context of the song, that's how I take it to mean.

And that certainly fits with the last verse where he picks up the Bible and - "I think that God, he stole the handle...".