Good Morning Mr. Railroad Man
(traditional)
Good morning, mr. railroad man
What time do your trains roll by ?
"at 9:16 and 2:44 and 25 minutes 'till 5"
"at 9:16 and 2:44 and 25 minutes 'till 5"
Thank you, mr. railroad man
I want to watch your trains go by
Standing on a platform, smoking a cheap cigar
And waiting for an old freight train that carries an empty car
Well, i pulled my hat down over my eyes
And i walked across the tracks
And i caught me the end of an old freight train
And i never did come back
Well, i sat down in a gamblin' game
But i could not play my hand
I was thinkin' about the woman i loved
Run away with another man, poor boy
Run away with another man
I was thinking about the woman that i loved
Run away with another man
song performed by by Ry Cooder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Boomers Story
(traditional, adapted by ry cooder)
Come and gather all around me
Listen to my tale of woe
Got some good advice to give you
Lots of things you oughta know
Take a tip from one whos travelled
And never stopped a-ramblin round
cause once you get the roamin fever
You never want to settle down, boy
You never want to settle down
I met a little gal in frisco
And I asked her to be my wife
Told her I was tired of roamin
Goin to settle down for life
Then I heard the whistle blowin
And I knew it was the red ball train
And I left that gal beside the railroad
And I never saw the gal again, boy
I never saw the gal again
Saw the gal again
I never saw the gal again
Left that gal beside the railroad
And I never saw the gal again
Travelled all over the country
Ive travelled everywhere
I been on every branch line railroad
And I never paid a nickel fare
I been from maine to californy
And from canada to mexico
I never tried to save no money
And now I got no place to bo, boy
Now I got no place to go
Listen to a boomers story
Pay attention to what I say
Well, I hear another train a-comin
Guess Ill be on my way
If you wanna do me a favor
When I lay me down and die
Just dig my grave beside the railroad
So I can hear the trains go by, boys
So I can hear the trains go by
Hear the trains go
Hear the trains go by
Just dig my grave beside the railroad
So I can hear the trains go by
song performed by by Ry Cooder
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 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!
Cross-tie Walker
I went down to the station, just to take a ride.
I went down to the station, just to take a ride.
Found myself on a flatcar, yesterday behind.
Pullin out from the platform, there was no brass band.
I pulled out from the platform, nobody raised a hand.
And there were no tears of regret from my runaway train.
Train, train, train, train.
Got no sand in my pocket, you know I aint tied down.
Aint no sand in my pocket, never do sit down.
Im just a cross-tie walker, where the freight trains run.
Run, run, run, run.
If you see me acomin, dont you waste my time.
If you see me acomin, dont you waste my time.
cause theres more miles between us than the santa fe line.
Run, run, run, run.
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm....
song performed by by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Trains
Here I am at the end of the day
With a cup of cold coffee
From the station buffet.
On trains, on trains I seem
To spend my life on trains.
See the blue suit banker in the ticket line.
Got an evening standard with playboy
Hidden behind.
On trains, on trains he seems
To spend his life on trains.
Time after time.
Was I just dreaming?
Did I help you aboard?
Full passenger service ---
Let me help with the door.
Sit down take the weight off your feet.
Theres a train full of people Id like
You to meet.
On trains, on trains we love
To spend our lives on trains.
Join the secret world of trains.
Feel the pleasure. touch the pain.
Drift into yesterday.
Once and again
I was just thinking.
We could meet sometime
On the 17.30 where
I usually find
My friends at the end of the day.
May we pay your fare, lady?
We should like you to stay
In our train. on trains ---
Youll have to spend your life
On trains.
I hear theres an office party on the 18.05.
Youll be home for christmas if they
Take you alive from the train.
Those trains, we have to spend our lives
On trains.
Once and again
I was just thinking.
We could meet any time
On number two platform
Where I usually find
My friends at the end of the day.
On trains, trains, trains.
song performed by by Jethro Tull
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!
Midnight Train
The Midnight Train to nowhere is boarding-
My life-long luggage has already been brought on-
The tracks of non-mobility are ready and waiting-
To sings its droning railroad song;
Its quite catchy to the ears they tell me-
As the trains roars itself in place upon the tracks-
Bidding my final farewells to everyone-
Turning my head-with plans to never look back;
They say that this train will get you nowhere-
And you know i believe this to be true-
Non-riding the tracks-ignoring the facts-
I'm on my way back home to you;
You are at the end of my nowhere-
Been there for so very long-
Just biding your time with your prose and rhyme-
While i write this here Railroad Song;
Oh -the Midnight Train to nowhere is not flyin'-
In stationary movement upon its nowhere tracks-
Hummin' its Chatanooga Choo Choo melody-
And me-vowing never to look back;
Staying in one place-stationary-
Really movin' nowhere in real time-
Know that you are there waitin' on me-
Writin' your rhyme at the end of the line;
Just A Silly Poem.
June 22,2010
poem by Theodora Onken
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Railroad
Up each morning at five oclock,
Seem like the noon-day sun aint never gonna stop.
The work is hard in a railroad yard,
Hey, hey, gotta make it today to punch a time card.
Workin on the railroad.
Chorus
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
Dirt and sweat, runnin down my back,
Workin on the railroad.
Work all day long up and down the railroad tracks.
Workin on the railroad.
Im a God fearing man, and with many I stand,
Workin on the railroad.
And with God weve been working, all hand in hand.
Workin on the railroad.
Chorus
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Workin on the railroad.
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
Workin on the railroad.
Oh, you know, the railroad is a mighty good line,
Come on and ride the railroad, one more time.
song performed by by Grand Funk Railroad
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Where are They Now?
Where are the bunkhouses
Where they once washed up - ate - slept
Where is the work we used to have for them
Where is the next freight train out of town
Where are the freight trains
They used to jump on and off
To get to the next work camp
The next job -the next hobo camp -
The last train pulled out
Of our abandoned station long ago
They're stuck in our town with
No jobs - homeless under a bridge
poem by Tom J. Mariani
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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!
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!
Thr Railroad Tracks
Who lived across the railroad tracks?
A few of us whites, but mostly blacks.
These railroad tracks without even knowing
separated my town and kept it growing
into a segregated place.
I used to listen for the sound of the train.
As it rolled on by, it would never remain.
It just kept rolling to where it was going.
The engineer waved. The smoke kept blowing
into a segregated place.
Even when the trains stopped the rolling
the tracks will still there.They were controlling
the thinking of the people in our town.
So they kept the tracks there, never tore them down
in our segregated place.
Some were on the right side of the tracks, you see.
Some were on the wrong side of the tracks, like me.
They never took the tracks down from 60 years ago.
And the town I grew up in doesn't want to know
it's a segregated place.
poem by Edwina Reizer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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!
Rollin In My Sweet Babys Arms
(traditional)
I aint gonna work on the railroad
Aint gonna work on the farm
Gonna lay round the shack
Till the mail train comes back
Roll in my sweet babys arms.
Roll in my sweet babys arms
Roll in my sweet babys arms
Lay around the shack
Till the mail train comes back
Roll in my sweet babys arms.
Where were you last friday night
While I was laying here in jail ?
You were walking the streets with another man,
Wouldnt even go my bail.
Roll in my sweet babys arms
Roll in my sweet babys arms
Gonna lay around the shack
Till the mail train comes back
Roll in my sweet babys arms.
I aint gonna work on the railroad
I aint gonna work on the farm
Gonna lay around the shack
Till the mail train comes back
Roll in my sweet babys arms.
Roll in my sweet babys arms
Roll in my sweet babys arms
Gonna lay around the shack
Till the mail train comes back
Roll in my sweet babys
Roll in my sweet babys
Roll in my sweet babys arms.
Alright, kids, risin up the bow, ready for twin fiddles now,
Mary and larry you two ready together now, alright ?
Its a crazy little thing and we call it the cotton-eyed joe!
song performed by by Kinky Friedman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Railroad Man
I feel like an old railroad man
Ridin' out on the Bluemont Line
Hummin' along Old Dominion Blues
Not much to see, and not much left to lose
And I know I can walk along the tracks
It may take a little longer
But I know how to find my way back
I feel like an old railroad man
Who's really tried the best that he can
To make his life add up to something good
But this engine no long burns on wood
And I guess I may never understand
The times that I live in
Are not made for a railroad man
I feel like an old railroad man
Gettin' on board at the end of an age
The station's empty and the whistle blows
Things are faster now
This train is just too slow
And I know I can walk along the tracks
It may take a little longer
But I know how to find my way back
song performed by by Eels
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Dixie Flyer
(Susan Longacre/Jim Photoglo/Russell Smith)
Well the first thing I remember is the smell of burnin' cinders
And the sound of that old whistle on the wind
I always wondered where the train was going
But I never cared at all where it had been
Yeah the first chance I got, I was gone like a shot
Following that old dream of mine
My only desire was to catch that flyer
And ride it to the end of the line
My life is like a Dixie Flyer
She don't ever look back
So pour on the coal
Let the good times roll
Till the train runs out of track
Full speed ahead no I ain't stoppin' yet
I feel that drivin' wheel down in my soul
I been some places where the train don't stop
Some places where the train don't even go
Yeah some are satisfied just to sit on the side
And watch as the trains roll by
That ain't me, there's too much to see
Gonna roll until the day that I die
My life is like a Dixie Flyer
She don't ever look back
So pour on the coal
Let the good times roll
Till the train runs out of track
Till the train runs out of track
Till the train runs out of track
song performed by by Travis Tritt
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Railroad Lady
By: jimmy buffett, jerry jeff walker
1973
Shes a railroad lady
Just a little bit shady
Spendin her days on the trains
Shes a semi-good looker
But the fast rails they took er
Now shes tryin, just tryin to get home again
South station in boston to the freightyards of austin
From the florida sunshine to the new orleans rain
Now that the railpacks
Has taken the best tracks
Shes tryin, just tryin to get home again
Shes a railroad lady
Just a little bit shady
Spendin her life on a train
Once a pullman car traveller
Now the brakeman wont have er
Shes tryin, just tryin to get home again
Once a high ballin loner he thought he could own er
Bought her a fur and a big diamond ring
She hocked em for cold cash
Left town on the wabash
Never thinkin, never thinkin of home way back then
But the rails are now rusty
The dinin cars dusty
Gold plated watches have taken their toll
Yeah the railroads are dyin
And the lady shes cryin
On a bus to kentucky and home thats her goal
Shes a railroad lady
Just a little bit shady
Spendin her life on a train
Shes a semi-good looker
But the fast rails they took er
Now shes tryin, just tryin to get home again
Coda:
Yes on a bus to kentucky and home once again
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Jenny Dreamed Of Trains
This song was first released on the all aboard! album. it is the only album it has been released on.
When jenny was a little girl, she only dreamed of trains
She never played with dolls or lacy kinds of things
Jenny counted boxcars instead of counting sheep
She could go anywhere when she went to sleep
All she ever talked about was getting on to ride
She was living in another time you could see it in her eyes
And every day after school shed head down to the track
Waiting for the train that was never coming back
Jenny dreamed of trains
When the nighttime came
Nobody knew how she made it come true
Jenny dreamed of trains
The depots been boarded up, the rails have turned to rust
There hasnt been a train through here since the mill went bust
No one believed her when she said she heard the train
Said she was just a little girl acting kind of strange
Jenny dreamed of trains
When the nighttime came
Nobody knew how she made it come true
Jenny dreamed of trains
Jenny laid a penny on the track one day
In God we trust she walked away
The very next morning all she could find
Was a little piece of copper squashed flatter than a dime
Jenny dreamed of trains
When the nighttime came
Nobody knew how she made it come true
Jenny dreamed of trains
Nobody knew how she made it come true
Jenny dreamed of trains
Words and music by vince gill and guy clark
song performed by by John Denver
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Railroad Days
Jan would climb up so high on the foul screen
Down below I would yell to watch out
When we'd play ? was always the winner
He was brave never listened to me shout
Afternoons playin' ball by the old wall
Hidin' out and of course be the star
Kept my records in old looseleaf notebooks
And today I think I still know where they are
Oh, Railroad days
Railroad days
Railroad days
When I was young, in my prime
On my way
When the rain never got in my way
oh in my younger railroad days
Some nights, Drifters playin' on the hi-fi
Talkin' 'bout girls, or preposterous lies
Laughin hard, watchin' Soupy at eleven
Skonkin' down, one of Mom's lemon pies
Ten o'clock, bringin' groceries from the market
Singin songs, to the darkness of the night
Even sang the parts the instruments were playing
Life was freer, dreams were really quite all right
Oh, Railroad days
Railroad days
Railroad days
When the sun seemed to smile on it's way
When the darkness was easier to play yeah
oh in my younger railroad days
Yesterday, I heard they shut the trains down
The ones than ran, by the field where I would play
Said the folks want new and faster transportation
It's just like me, I'll be obsolete one day
Oh, Railroad days
Railroad days
Railroad days
When I was young, in my prime
On my way
When the rain never got in my way
oh in my younger railroad days
song performed by by Bob Seger
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!