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Ridin' on the City of New Orleans |
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Illinois Central, Monday mornin' rail |
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Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders |
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Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail |
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Out on the southbound odyssey, the train pulls out of Kankakee |
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And it rolls past houses and farms and fields |
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Passin' times that have no names and freight yards full of old, black men |
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And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles |
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Singin', good mornin' America, how are you? |
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Yeah, don't you know me? I'm your native son |
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I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans |
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And I'll be gone five hundred miles when day is done |
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And I was dealin' cards with the old men in the club car |
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And it's penny a point, ain't nobody keepin' score? |
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Just pass that paper bag that holds the bottle |
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You can feel the wheels grumblin' beneath the floor |
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And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers |
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Ride their daddy's magic carpet made of steel |
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And mothers with their babes asleep, go rockin' to the gentle beat |
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And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream |
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Just a-singin', good mornin', America, how are you? |
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Yeah, don't you know me? I'm your native son |
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I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans |
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I'll be gone five hundred miles when day is done |
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Alright |
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It's nighttime on the City of New Orleans |
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We're changin' cars in Memphis Tennessee |
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Halfway home, we'll be there 'by mornin' |
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Through the Mississippi darkness rollin' to the sea |
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And all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream |
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And the steel rails still ain't heard the news |
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The conductor sings that song again, its passengers will please refrain |
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And this train is got the disappearin' railroad blues |
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Singin', good night, America, how are you? |
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Yeah, don't you know me? I'm your native son |
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I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans |
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I'll be gone five hundred miles when day is done |
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Just a-singin', good night', America, how are you? |
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Yeah, don't you know me? I'm your native son |
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I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans |
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And I'll be gone a long, long time when day is done |
