maybe he was settled with his pen by the tracks when he wrote this verse (of the entire set of lyrics for the tune) and was counting boxcars and decided to throw it in...i always try predict the # of boxcars based on the # of engines...whether it's a train out back or when i'm at a crossing listening to tunes...it's a fun game actually...i'm sure i'm probably wrong about the origin of '21' but it is possible...like Gord has often replied when asked about certain phrases, "it worked, it's just a lyric"
jj (another of the shallow thinkers
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