Freight Train Blues
(first releasetraditional, arranged by bob dylan)
I was born in dixie in a boomers shack,
Just a little shanty by the railroad track
Freight train was it taught me how to cry,
The holler of the driver was my lullaby.
Ive got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy mama got em on the bottom of my ramblin shoes
And when the whistle blows, I gotta go
Baby dont you know
It looks like Im never gonna lose
The freight train blues.
Well, my daddy was a fireman and my mama hear
She was the only daughter of the engineer
My sweetheart loved the brakeman and that aint no joke
Its a shame the way she keeps a good man broke.
I got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy I got em in the bottom of my ramblin shoes
And when the whistle blows, I gotta go
Oh mama dont you know
Well it looks like Im never gonna lose
The freight train blues.
Well, the only thing that makes you laugh again
Is a south bound whistle on a south bound train
Every place I want to go
I never can go because you know
Because I got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy mama, got em on the bottom of my ramblin shoes
song performed by by Bob Dylan

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Hank Williams Version Of Freight Train Blues
Freight train blues written by john lair 1935. recorded by roy acuffs
Crazy tennesseans 1936, dynamite hatcher vocal, acuff mimics the train
Whistle.
This is hank williams 1939-40 version on the 10 cd box set from mercury.
(c) I was born in dixie in a boomers shack,
Just a little old shanty by a (g7) railroad (c) track,
The hummin of the drivers was my lullaby,
And a freight train whistle taught me (g7) how to (c) cry.
Chorus:
(c) Ive got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin (g7) shoes,
And (c) when that whistle blows, Ive gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess Im never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
(c) now my pappy was a fireman and my mammy dear,
Was the only daughter of an (g7) en-gin- (c) eer,
My sister married a brakeman and it aint no joke,
Now its a shame the way she keeps a (g7) good man (c) broke.
Chorus: (one word changed, that whistle, to, the whistle.)
(c) Ive got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin (g7) shoes,
And(c) when the whistle blows, Ive gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess Im never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
song performed by by Hank Williams

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Freight Train Blues
(c) i was born in dixie in a boomer's shack,
Just a little old shanty by a (g7) railroad (c) track,
The hummin' of the drivers was my lullaby,
And a freight train whistle taught me (g7) how to (c) cry.
Chorus:
(c) i've got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got 'em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin' (g7) shoes,
And (c) when that whistle blows, i've gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess i'm never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
(c) now my pappy was a fireman and my mammy dear,
Was the only daughter of an (g7) en-gin- (c) eer,
My sister married a brakeman and it ain't no joke,
Now it's a shame the way she keeps a (g7) good man (c) broke.
Chorus: (one word changed, that whistle, to, the whistle.)
(c) i've got the freight train blues, lordy, lordy, lordy,
Got 'em in the bottom of my (d7) ramblin' (g7) shoes,
And(c) when the whistle blows, i've gotta go, (c7)
(f) oh! lordy! (c) guess i'm never gonna (a7) lose,
The (d7) mean old (g7) freight train (c) blues.
song performed by by Hank Williams

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Freight Train
Well I just came down from Chippewa
I had a station wagon and a hundred dollars
I was thinkin' about the girl I'd lost a year before
I hadn't seen her for some time
I thought that I might go on by
When your memory came floodin' in
And you closed that door
[CHORUS:]
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a diesel locomotive
I'd come whistlin' down your track
Crashin' in your door
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I didn't have a heart
And you'd need a shovel for the coal
Just to get me started
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a freight train
Well every time I talk to you
And I hear your jealous lies
I feel like I've been left abandoned
On some old railway side
And every time I hear your voice
My water just gets cold
My stoker will not stoke
And my boiler will not boil
[CHORUS]
Well every time I fell behind
And I could not get ahead
I wish someone would pull the lever
And give me a little sand
And every time I slip behind
Even further back
I wish some switchman would come out of the fog
And change my track
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a diesel locomotive
I'd come whistlin' down your track
Crashin' in your door
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I didn't have a heart
And you'd need a shovel for the coal
Just to get me started
Wish I was a freight train baby
Wish I was a freight train . . .
song performed by by Kasey Chambers

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Mama Tried
(merle haggard)
First thing I remember knowin
Was a lonesome whistle blowin
And a young ones dream of growin up to ride
On a freight train leavin town
Not knowin where Im bound
No one could steer me right
But mama tried
One and only rebel child
From a family meek and mild
My mama seemed to know what lay in store
In spite of all my sunday learnin
Toward the bad I kept on turnin
Till mama couldnt hold me anymore
And I turned twenty-one in prison
Doin life without parole
No one could steer me right
But mama tried mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better
But her pleading I denied
And that leaves only me to blame
cause mama tried
And then there was another man from texas.
My mama and daddy used to drive for
Miles and miles just to listen to him sing.
I remember mama used to tell me.
Shed say reba hes got the best voice Ive ever heard
And then later on when I got to go and listen to him sing,
Id sit there all night long and wait for
Ray price to sing the blues.
song performed by by Reba Mcentire

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Send My Body
Well that judge he found me guilty of wrong doing
And he sentenced me to hang in mid July
He look down at me and said you're lifes a ruin
If I were you I'd break right down and cry
But nobody seems to care that I ain't guilty
'Cause I never did the things they said I've done
But I guess they're gonna have to hang somebody
And It's lookin' like I'm goin to be the one
Chorus:
So send my body home on a freight train
And don't worry none that I don't go first class
Send my body home on a freight train
So everyone can see me when I pass
And don't worry none about no fancy funeral
It don't matter how they lay me down
Just see they bury me out by mama's apple tree
And send my body back to my home town
--- Instrumental ---
My mama was one damn hard workin' woman
She tried to raise us kids without a pa
The last thing that she said she was on her dying bed
Was son don't get in trouble with the law
Whenever my time comes to meet my maker
I'm going to try to do my very best
I'm going try to stand and take it like a man
When they ask if I have one request
Chorus:
I'll just say .....
Send my body home on a freight train
And don't worry none that I don't go first class
Send my body home on a freight train
So everyone can see me when I pass
And don't worry none about no fancy funeral
'Cause it don't matter how they lay me down
Just See they bury me out by mama's apple tree
And send my body back to my home town
Yes, just see they bury me out by mama's apple tree
And send my body back to my home town...
song performed by by Randy Travis

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Long Lost John
-hmm, I think the piano maybe is better, I just realised the ......? ..........hmm....hello, yoko...yeah!.
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Long, long, lost john.
Lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Yeah, long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, long lost john
Well, hes long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the.......
Well, long, long, long john
Well, oh yeah.
I got it about at half past three
You dont look out, shes gonna spew on me
Im gonna run, railroad bill
Im gonna ru....
-hello, richard? mo, mo, Im different, thats one of the problems with it
song performed by by Yoko Ono

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Long Lost John
-hmm, I think the piano maybe is better, I just realised the ......? ..........hmm....hello, yoko...yeah!.
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Long, long, lost john.
Lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, lost john
Yeah, long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the top
Well, hes long, long, long lost john
Well, hes long, long, lost john.
Well, lost john standing by the railroad track
A-waitin for the freight train to come back.
The freight train come back but never made a stop
Lost john thought hed have to ride the.......
Well, long, long, long john
Well, oh yeah.
I got it about at half past three
You dont look out, shes gonna spew on me
Im gonna run, railroad bill
Im gonna ru....
-hello, richard? mo, mo, Im different, thats one of the problems with it
song performed by by Yoko Ono

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Freight Train Boogie / Choo Choo Ch'boogie
(GriffinHorton, Darling, Gabler)
Casey Jones was a mighty man, now he's resting in the Promised Land.
The only thing he could understand was an eight-wheel driver under his command.
He made the freight train boogie all the time.
He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.
Woo woo, wah wah, woo woo, wah wah. Woo woo, wah wah, woo woo, wah wah.
He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.
I'm headed for the station with my pack on my back,
I'm tired of transportation in the back of a hack.
I just love the rhythm of the clickity-clack,
I hear the whistle blowing, see the smoke from the stack.
And pal around with democratic fellas named Mac,
Take me right back to the track, Jack.
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie.
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie, take me right back to the track, Jack.
You reach your destination and alas and alack,
You need some compensation to get back in the black.
You take a morning paper from the top of the stack
and read the situation from the front to the back.
The only job that's open needs a man with a knack,
take me right back to the track, Jack.
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie.
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie, take me right back to the track, Jack.
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch'boogie.
Choo choo, choo choo ch'boogie,
He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.
song performed by by John Denver

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Last Hobo
This song was first released on the all aboard! album. it is the only album it has been released on.
He was born in international falls a long, long time ago
Moved to tucumcan when the ironwork got show
He was cornbread and hard scrabble and scratching for every dime
till he threw it in and he kilt the road to walk that endless line
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Leaving here
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Away from here
He tried his hand at lots of jobs and he did em all with pride
From shoeing mules to driving trucks, he mastered what he tried
It must have been ramona, she was all he cared about
When she ran away and left him you could see the fire go out
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Away from here
We hardly ever see him
Once or twice and he would stay a day or two
Hed ask about ramona
Then hed say that he was only passing through
Now he knows every railroad bull along the right of way
And every hobo jungle from new york to santa fe
Hes looked for his ramona on the far side of the hill
Now his sun is sinking lower and hes looking for her still
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Leaving from here
Now hes the last hobo
Riding the last boxcar
On the last freight train
Away from here
Words and music by george allen
song performed by by John Denver

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Mama Tried
The first I remember knowin was that lonesome whistle blowin
And a youngins dream of growin up to ride.
On a freight train leavin town, not knowin where I was bound
No one could steer me right, but mama tried.
Was the only rebel child from a family meek and mild
Mama seemed to know what lay in store
In spite of all my sunday learnin
For the bad I kept on turnin and mama couldnt hold me anymore.
And I turned 21 in prison, doin life without parole
No one could steer me right, but mama tried, mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleadin I denied
That leaves no one but me to blame cause mama tried.
Dear old daddy rest his soul, left my mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Workin hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
Oh she tried to raise me right, but I refused.
And I turned 21 in prison, doin life without parole
No one could steer me right, but mama tried, mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleadin I denied
That leaves no one but me to blame cause mama tried.
song performed by by Grateful Dead

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Mama Tried
The first thing I remember knowin was a lonesome whistle blowin,
And a younguns dream of growin up to ride,
On a freight train leavin town, not knowin where Im bound.
And no one could change my mind but mama tried.
One and only rebel child from a famly meek and mild
My mama seemed to to know what lay in store,
spite all my sunday learnin towards the bad I kept on turnin,
til mama couldnt hold me anymore.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin life without parole,
No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
And that leaves only me to blame, cause mama tried
Dear ole daddy, rest his soul left my mom a heavy load,
She tried so very hard to feel his shoes,
Workin hours without rest, wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right but I refused.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin life without parole,
No one could steer me right but mama tried, mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better but her pleading I denied
And that leaves only me to blame, cause mama tried
song performed by by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Midnight Train
Now listen just a minute while I sing this song,
Dont you worry baby it wont take long.
Im just about ready to draw the line,
So dont be surprised if I leave this time.
Well Im goin north and Im goin south
Dont want no more of your lyin mouth.
Im hittin the road, gonna ring some bells,
Better know I can do it well.
Chorus:
Midnight train, ramblin ramblin
All night long Im gamblin, gamblin
Been losin all my money and it really is funny, umm badda dum.
Midnight train, ramblin ramblin
Al night Im gamblin, gamblin
Well tell you what baby, well you better be movin on.
Well I really dont know where Im goin for sure,
Aint gotta map, it aint no tour.
Just headin out to the open sky,
Who knows, might even die.
Well dont you worry your pretty little head
cause you never gave a dang what I did or said.
Thats why Im packin to leave this place
Cant stand to look at your cheatin face.
Chorus
Well you treated me like a little boy
And played around like I was a toy.
Guess you thought Id have the blues,
Look whose cryin, guess you lose.
Chorus (twice)
Its about that time, better be movin on
Midnight train (version from missing links, vol. 3)
1: well Im an angry man, I sing an angry song,
Tell you honey it wont be long,
Well Ill pack my bags, get outa here,
With my guitar and a case o beer.
Well Im goin north and Im goin south,
Tell you honey, better shut youre mouth,
Well Ill kick your head from here to hell,
You better know I can do it well.
Chorus: midnight train, ramblin, ramblin,
All night long Im a-gamblin, gamblin,
Losin all my money well it really is funny, hon.
Midnight train, ramblin, ramblin,
All night long Im a-gamblin, gamblin,
Tell you whatn baby well you better be movin on.
2: well I really dont know where Im goin for sure,
Aint got a map, and it aint no tour,
Im just headin out for the open sky,
Who knows? might even die.
Well dont you worry your pretty little head,
I never give a damn what I did or said.
Thats why Im packin to leave this place,
Cant stand look at your cheatin face.
Chorus: (repeat)
3: well you treated me like a little boy,
And you played around like I was a toy.
I guess you thought Id have the blues,
Look whos cryin, guess you lose.
Chorus: (repeat)
Chorus: midnight train, rambling, rambling,
All night long Im gambling, gambling.
Losing all my money, well it really aint so funny, hon.
Midnight train, rambling, rambling,
All night long Im gambling, gambling.
Tell you whatn baby, well you better be moving on.
Chorus: (repeat)
Chorus: its about that time, better be movin on.
Get outa here, you better be movin on.
Well thats all she wrote, you better be movin on.
Source: mark atkins (by ear)
song performed by by Monkees

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Mama Tried
Album: A Tribute to Tradition
Randy Travis & Merle Haggard
The first thing I remember knowing,
Was a lonesome whistle blowing,
And a young un's dream of growing up to ride;
On a freight train leaving town,
Not knowing where I'm bound,
No-one could change my mind but Mama tried.
One and only rebel child,
From a family, meek and mild:
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store.
Despite all my Sunday learning,
Towards the bad, I kept on turning.
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried.
--- Instrumental ---
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul,
Left my Mom a heavy load;
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes.
Working hours without rest,
Wanted me to have the best.
She tried to raise me right but I refused.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried...
song performed by by Randy Travis

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Let It Rock
Well up in the evening down in Mobile, Alabama
Working on the railroad with the steel driving hammer
Gotta make some money to buy some brand new shoes
Trying to find somebody to take away these blues
"She don't love me" hear them singing in the sun
Payday's coming and my work is all done
Later in the evening when the sun is sinking low
All day I been waiting for the whistle to blow
Sitting in a tepee built right on the tracks
Rolling them bones until the foreman comes back
Pick up you belongings boys and scatter about
We've got an off-schedule train comin two miles about
Everybody's trembling and running around
Picking up their money, tearing the tepee down
Foreman wants a penny (?) about to go insane
Trying to get the workers out the way of the train
Engineer blowing the whistle loud and long
Can't stop the train, gotta let it roll on
song performed by by Grateful Dead

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
No Leaf Clover
And it feels right this time
On this crash course were in the big time
Pay no mind to the distant thunder
Beauty fills his head with wonder, boy....
Says it feels right this time
Turn around, found new high lights
Good day to be alive sir
Good day to be alive, he said.....
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train coming your way
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just the freight train coming your way
Dont it feel right like this
All the pieces fall to his wish
Suck up for that quick reward boy
Suck up for that quick reward they said.....
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train coming your way
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just the freight train coming your way......
Its coming your way
Its coming your way......
Here comes
Yeah, then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train coming your way.... yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah...
Then it comes to be, yeah
song performed by by Metallica

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Send My Body Home On A Freight Train
Well that judge he found me guilty of wrong doing
He sentenced me to hang in mid-july
He look down at me and said you are a ruin
If I were you Id break right down and cry
But nobody seems to care that I aint guilty
I never did the things they said Ive done
But it looks like theyre gonna to hang somebody
And its lookin like Im goin to be the one
Chorus,
(so just) send my body home on a freight train
And dont worry none that I dont go first class
Send my body home on a freight train
So everyone can see me when I pass
And dont worry none about no fancy funeral
It dont matter how they lay me down
See they bury me out by mamas apple tree
And just send my body back to my home town
Verse 2
My mama was one damn hard workin woman
She tried to raise us kids without a pa
The last thing that she said she was on her dying bed
Was boy dont get in trouble with the law
Well whenever my time comes to meet my maker
Im going to try to do my very best
Im going to stand and take it like a man
When they ask if I have one request
Ill say .....(repeat chorus)
song performed by by Randy Travis

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Freight Train Boogie
This song was first released on the all aboard! album. it is the only album it has been released on.
Casey jones he was a mighty man
But now hes resting in the promised land
The only thing he could understand
Was an eight wheel driver under his command
He made the freight train boogie
All the time
He made the freight train boogie
As he rolled down the line
Whoo whoo, wah wah
Whoo whoo, wah wah
Whoo whoo, wah wah
Whoo whoo, wah wah
He made the freight train boggle
As he rolled down the line
Words and music by kevin griffin
song performed by by John Denver

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Vibes Man
Vibes man in the alley, play me your spitball serenade,
And a deeper blue and youll be playing in your grave.
Save your notes, spend them on your blues, boy.
Help your darlin yearlin blues, boy.
Hit the church note, ring it!
Vibes man sing the trashcan hear your junkman singing.
Fish lady, dont you bait those tenement walls.
Dont take corner boys because theyre too easy.
You were born black and blue,
You didnt have to wait for somebody to hit you.
Take my arm, Ill move with you down broadway.
Take my arm, oh honey, Ill walk with you down broadway.
Im the young man and Ill be proud,
And I can talk real loud.
And Im from out of town, too.
Wont you come home with me.
Wont you come home with me.
But no, cause she wont take a train,
Oh, she wont take that train.
Oh, she wont take a train.
Oh, she wont take that train.
She wont take a train.
Oh, she wont take that train.
Oh, she wont take a train.
Oh, she wont take that train.
You wont take the train.
She wont take the train.
Cause shes afraid those tracks are gonna slow her down.
And when she turns around,
Im gonna be gone like the ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Blues In The Night
My mama done tol' me, when i was in knee-pants
My mama done tol' me, " son a woman'll sweet talk"
And
Give ya the big eye, but when the sweet talkin's done
A woman's a two-face, a worrisome thing who'll
Leave ya to sing the blues in the night
Now the rain's a-fallin', hear the train's a-callin,
"whooee!"
(my mama done tol' me) hear dat lonesome whistle blowin' 'cross the trestle, "whooee!"
(my
Mama done tol' me) a-whooee-ah-whooee ol' clickety-clack's a-echoin' back th' blues in the night
The
Evenin' breeze'll start the trees to cryin' and the moon'll hide its light when you get the blues in
The night
Take my word, the mockingbird'll sing the saddest kind o' song, he knows things are wrong,
And he's right
From natchez to mobile, from memphis to st. joe, wherever the four winds blow
I been
In some big towns an' heard me some big talk, but there is one thing i know
A woman's a two-face, a
Worrisome thing who'll leave ya to sing the blues in the night
My mama was right, there's blues in
song performed by by Ella Fitzgerald

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Railroad Boy
Hear the whistle blowin so long
Tellin me I gotta move along
Coast to coast gonna steal highway
Railroad boy up in the guiding daybreak
Get no sleep in a boxcar
Get no piece of line
They catch you jumpin a freight train
They give you such a hard time
Movin fast as my time runs out
Coal is something I can live without
Railroad fever got me a route
Like tumblweed I aint got no roots
You know no peace in a boxcar
Just cant sleep on a line
They catch you jumpin a freight train
They give you such a hard time
(lead)
East coast towns they are
Dark and cold
West coast ladies
They get right to my soul
But you know
Cant stand long
Bet all rairoaders
Are singin my song
(sweet, charlton, agnew, mccafferty)
Nazsongs/panache music
1976 nazareth (dunfermline) ltd.
song performed by by Nazareth

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!