My Problem With Songrwriting

Is that it is always in spurts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDUv0v0UxSQ  (sorry no music. Just this for effect)

But this time I think I'm on to something

Please read the story of Ol' 88 and the cigarette train crash which happened close to where we live.

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This excerpt is taken from their Government- Historical page:

"On October 18, 1903, "Ole 88" Engine 345, jumped the
tracks and tore down part of the Pumpkinvine Creek Trestle.  Pumpkinvine Creek Trestle, which was originally built in 1901, was rebuilt after the accident. The trestle is over 750 feet long and towers 126 feet above Pumpkinvine Creek. The trestle was restored in 1999 and now serves as part of the Silver Comet Trail."

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What isn't mentioned was what "Ole 88" was a-haulin'. Can you guess?

Right. Cigarettes.

When folks heard about the wreck and the cargo, they got on whatever vehicles they had at the time and hauled up to the trestle, where the whole place was covered in ----- cigarettes.

They began to loot those coffin nails until the land around the wreck except for the locomotive and the freight cars was spotless.

But that's not the end of the story, naw suh.

Somewhere, sometime, somehow a legend was born. It's not backed up by any facts or figures, but the story goes that the reason so many people in and around Paulding County died of lung cancer was they didn't begin smoking until they got a hold of some "o'them cigarettes" from the train wreck. Hell, they were free and I guess in those days it was much easier to get hooked on them because they were stronger (no filter), but I can't say for certain.

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Okay. Thanks for reading, I know it was kinda long.

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Here's what I have so far trying to turn this into a song:

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Well, Ol' 88 had started out late

Chuggin' towrd the Paulding County line                                         (I ran "toward" together there to make it fit the meter of the song)

Ol' Charlie hit the bottle and then he hit the throttle

Cause he knew that he could make it on time

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And that's it. That's all I got, my friends. Now, here's how you can help me: I don't want you to write the song for me, I want you to help me write it, by asking me stuff about the train wreck. Examples: "Where did it leave from, Bill?" - Atlanta. "Time?" - Don't know....... that kinda stuff.

Monday I also have the added responsibility of calling the Georgia Railroad Historical Society to get the facts straight, 'cause we sure don't want "Ol' Charlie" to be drunk when he wasn't, do we?

Whatcha all think?

Thanks as always for your kind assistance!

Bill