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City of New Orleans Lyrics
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
Good morning, America
How are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.
And the sons of pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.
Good morning, America
How are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans.
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
Good morning, America
How are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans.
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
How are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.
How are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans.
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
How are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans.
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
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This song is about his journey through america on a freight train. It show's his perspective of America at the time and what we need to get through to achieve what what we want in life. For instance... "playin cards with the old men in the club cars. A penny a point ain't no one keepin score. half way home baby we'll be there by morn'in until the mississppi darkness comes rollin' down to the sea." reminds me of how men went through life doing whatever they could to get by in this world and how it didn't matter what they did, it just had to take their minds off of the problems in their lives... love the cover by ekoostik hookah by the way. great song
@buckeyeguy77 the City of New Orleans was a passenger train that ran between Chicago and New Orleans for the Illinois Central Railroad between 1947 and 1971, when the line was taken over by Amtrak and turned into a night route called the Panama Limited. The IC train was the longest daytime route (it ran as an overnight) in the US until it's cessation in 1971. Thanks to the popularity of the song, Amtrak renamed the Panama Limited to the City of New Orleans in 1981, and the train still runs today.
@buckeyeguy77 the City of New Orleans was a passenger train that ran between Chicago and New Orleans for the Illinois Central Railroad between 1947 and 1971, when the line was taken over by Amtrak and turned into a night route called the Panama Limited. The IC train was the longest daytime route (it ran as an overnight) in the US until it's cessation in 1971. Thanks to the popularity of the song, Amtrak renamed the Panama Limited to the City of New Orleans in 1981, and the train still runs today.
The song was written by Steve Goodman to lament the passing of the...
The song was written by Steve Goodman to lament the passing of the IC passenger travel (and all other independent passenger rail travel) due to the creation of Amtrak (hence the lyric about "disappearing railroad blues"). Arlo Guthrie (and subsequently Willie Nelson) changed a couple of lyrics likely due to a lack familiarity with railroads. Specifically, the line about "passing trains that have no names" was originally "passing towns that have no names", referring to the small towns along the railroad with no signposts identifying them.
Goodman had Lukemia (which he would finally succumb to at 34 years of age in 1984), and possibly saw himself in the lyrics about a dying train, adding to the emotion of the song.
Shouldn\'t the third verse be:\n\nGood night, America, how are you? (not morning)\n\n\n\n"City of New Orleans Lyrics as written by Steve Goodman"
Shouldn\'t the third verse be: Good night, America, how are you? (not morning) as written by Steve Goodman?