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The Causality of Life's Casual Metaphors

nic Bernstein

The other day, I was sitting, just sitting and enjoying a show, when I suddenly found myself pondering the causality and origins of life's casual metaphors. By casual metaphors, I mean those which seem so universal, so ubiquitous, so unquestionable, that we all take them for granted. What stirred me to this was a song, a song about a lonesome whistle whine. The whistle was a train whistle, and the whine was the from the whistle on it's way down the track. What caught my attention in this otherwise banal metaphor were these questions: Who invested the whine of the whistle with loneliness, and when was it decided that the sound of a train whistle is lonely?

The very first trains had no whistles, It wasn't until many years later, when there were lots of trains, that they sprouted whistles. The purpose of the whistle were to clear the way, to let people, cows and other trains know that you were coming through. So, where did the lonely part come from? Why is it that all we need hear is a train whistle, and we conjure the image of lonely?

A train whistle could be a grand welcome, after all. It could be a fine hello. But, for whatever reason, it is not. No, a train whistle is lonely. There is no other possible way for it to be. We hear a whistle, Whooo-Whooo, we hear loneliness. We are programmed that way, and there is no denying it.

Many things are lonely. A full moon on a starless night is lonely. A single man at a strip bar is lonely. A child lost at the zoo is lonely. Who decided that a train whistle is, or should be lonely?

Whenever any of us hear a train whistle, the first thing we think of is "Lonely." A train whistle has become the common metaphor for loneliness. If ever you want your life to be adorned with loneliness, just imagine a train whistle, and you're there. Why? Why is it that train whistles are so connected with loneliness?

Now, none of us can contend that a train whistle is not lonely. It is an undeniable fact that it is. Throughout it's history, a train whistle has been associated with loneliness. So, I guess my question is: Which came first, the whistle or the metaphor? Did the person who invented the train whistle make it sound plaintive and alone on purpose? Or, did this connection come later? For that matter, did the whistle as lonely metaphor arise because it is a sign of leaving, departure, removal? Or, is it merely because of the sound, the plaintive moan?

I will not deny that image which a train whistle conjures up within myself: This moment on the platform is the last time that I will ever see her, and then she is gone. The whistle is lonely there. It can be nothing else. I watch her walk down the platform, the whistle blows, and through it's pipes sound the root, the base, of my loneliness. But, then again, what about the train whistle which signals the return of the heros of war to their waiting wives and lovers? Surely it is not lonely, for this is the whistle which reunites. Or is it just the other side of the whistle which brings back the bodies of the fallen soldiers, brings back the bodies to rest at home?

So, back to my original question: Which came first? Did the designer of the whistle intend to make it plaintive? Did he mean to make it sad? Or, was it merely happenstance? I certainly hope that he didn't intend to make it joyless, for if he did, he failed. I guess we may never know.

For whatever reason, providence has decided that train whistles are lonely. It is a metaphor to be used by poets and songwriters for years to come, until that day, that awful day, when no one remembers a train whistle. When no one remembers that lonesome cry, and some new metaphor must rise in it's stead. I guess now I can start pondering what those new, casual metaphors will be, and why...