City of New Orleans
Written Steve Goodman
Recorded by Frank McKinnon

LYRICS

Ridin' 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 of Canuti
and rolls along past
houses, farms and fields,
passing trains that have no name,
and graveyards
full of old great men,
and graveyards full
of rusted automobiles.

REFRAIN:
Good mornin' America how are ya?
Hey, 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.

Playin' cards with the old men
in the club car
many a boy,
ain't no one keepin' score.
Pass the paper bag
that holds the bottle.
Feel the wheels rumble
beneath the floor.

And the sons of pullmen porters
and the sons of engineers
ride their fathers' magic carpet
made of steel.
Mothers with their babies sleep
rockin' to the gentle beat.
And the rhythm of the rail
is all they feel

REFRAIN

Night time
on the City of New Orleans,
changin' cars
in Memphis, Tennessee.
Halfway home,
and we'll be there by mornin'.
The Mississippi darkness
rollin down to the sea.

And all the towns and people seem
to fade into a bad dream.
But the steel rails
still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings
his songs again.
The passengers
will please refrain.
This train has got the
dissappearin' railroad blues.

REFRAIN

MP3 Copy of Studio Recording
Recorded in 2000

If your computer won't play it on this page, then try the link below.

[MP3 Copy of Studio Recording]

David Smith: Guitar
Jim Ostrander: Bass Guitar
Tom Blake: Vocal Harmony
Frank McKinnon: Guitar and Vocal

Music and Stories by Frank McKinnon at Robin's Lockmith Services; A Locksmith in Roswell, NM (575) 420-8199