His most famous work is Alice's Restaurant, a talking blues song that lasts eighteen minutes and twenty seconds (in its original recorded version; Guthrie has been known to spin the story out to forty-five minutes in concert). The song, a bitingly satirical protest against the Vietnam War draft, is based on a true incident. In the song, Guthrie was called up for a draft examination, and rejected as unfit for military service as a result of a criminal record consisting in its entirety of a single arrest, court appearance, fine and clean-up order for littering. In reality, Guthrie, though a carrier of the genetically inherited disease Huntington's chorea, was classified as fit (1A); however, his draft-lottery number did not come up.
02. The City Of New Orleans
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors, twenty-five sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
And rolls along past houses, farms and fields
Passin' trains that have no name
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles
Good morning America, how are you?
Said, "Don't you know me, I'm your native son"
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
Dealin' cards 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
And 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
And 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?
Said, "Don't you know me, I'm your native son"
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans
Changin' cars in Memphis, Tennessee
Half way home and we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rollin' down to the sea
But all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rail still ain't heard the news
The conductor sings his songs again
The passengers will please refrain
This train got the disappearing railroad blues
Goodnight America, how are you?
Said, "Don't you know me, I'm your native son"
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
The song "City of New Orleans" is a ballad that tells the story of a train journey from the city of Chicago to New Orleans, Louisiana. The song is sung from the perspective of a passenger, taking the train to visit his hometown. Along the way, the singer reflects on the world passing by while also reminiscing on the various passengers on board.
The opening verse sets the stage for the journey, with the singer describing the train and its passengers. The train is the City of New Orleans, run by the Illinois Central railroad. The train departs Kankakee, Illinois and passes by a succession of houses, farms and fields, as well as other unnamed trains and freight yards, setting the scene for a lengthy journey away from the urban landscape of Chicago. In the second verse, the singer greets America, taking the voice of the train, and introduces himself as a loyal citizen of the country. The song also celebrates the contributions that the working class has made to the United States, specifically, the black Pullman porters on the train.
The third verse reflects on the nighttime portion of the journey. The train stops in Memphis, Tennessee, but the passengers are still half a day's journey from their final destination in New Orleans. The darkness of night, as well as the exhaustion of the travelers, amplifies their collective sense of disorientation and alienation. The conductor sings his song, but it is not enough to alleviate this sense of unease, for both the passengers and the train itself.
Line by Line Meaning
Ridin' on the City of New Orleans
Traveling on a train called The City of New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail
Monday morning ride on Illinois Central Railroad
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
15 train cars with 15 uneasy passengers
Three conductors, twenty-five sacks of mail
Three conductors and 25 bags of mail on board
All along the southbound odyssey
Trip heads south through various locations
The train pulls out at Kankakee
The journey begins in Kankakee
And rolls along past houses, farms, and fields
The train passes by residential, farm, and rural areas
Passin' trains that have no name
The train crosses paths with other nameless trains
And freight yards full of old black men
Passing freight yards with elderly African-American men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles
The train passes by yards filled with rusty old automobiles
Good morning America, how are you?
Greeting to America
Said, "Don't you know me, I'm your native son"
Identifying as a part of the American heritage
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
The identification of the train already introduced
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
The train will cover 500 miles by day's end
Dealin' cards games with the old men in the club car
Playing card games with elderly gentlemen in the club car
Penny a point, ain't no one keepin' score
Playing for penny stakes with no official scorekeeping
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Sharing of a bottle of (presumably) alcohol in a paper bag
And feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor
Sensation of the train wheels on the tracks felt by passengers
And the sons of Pullman porters
The sons of men who work on the train
And the sons of engineers
The sons of men who operate the train
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel
The train is a magical vessel, passed down from generation to generation
And mothers with their babes asleep
Mothers and their sleeping children also onboard
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
The train's movement lulls passengers to rhythmic motion
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel
The train's motion becomes a comforting rhythm for passengers
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans
Describing the night on the train
Changin' cars in Memphis, Tennessee
Changing train cars in Memphis
Halfway home and we'll be there by morning
The journey is halfway over and will be completed by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Traveling through the dark Mississippi night
Rollin' down to the sea
Heading towards the ocean
But all the towns and people seem
In the dark, the cities and people go unseen
To fade into a bad dream
Everything seems like a bad dream
And the steel rail still ain't heard the news
The train doesn't know what's happening around it
The conductor sings his songs again
The conductor sings once more
The passengers will please refrain
Asking passengers to stay quiet while the conductor sings
This train got the disappearing railroad blues
The melancholy feeling that comes with the fading of the era of the train
Goodnight America, how are you?
Farewell message to the country
Said, "Don't you know me, I'm your native son"
Reiteration of being a part of American identity
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
Reiteration of the train's identity
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
The train will have crossed 500 miles by day's end
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Steve Goodman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rich Johnson
Steve Goodman is the originator, Chicago's favorite singer/songwriter. Same guy that wrote Go Cubs Go! I love this song, so thanks for this. Trying to learn fingerstyle & am in my infancy but every one of the beginner songs are just not songs I like or even know. They used to play this son at Union Station in Chicago when you took the train from Chicago to New Orleans, if memory serves me right the name of that train is the "Spirit of New Orleans".
David Hull
Ok, does anyone know this guy's name? I really like the way he shows you how to pick the song, it's very clear. We all know Steve Goodman wrote it. And Arlo Guthrie sang the first hit version. I like Steve Goodman's version a lot too, he's great. But who is this guy, with the denim jacket and the long brown hair? I'd like to know, he's really good.
Richard W.
There’s a French version. “Salut Les Amoureux “ a couple of French chicks, “Les Frangines” do an excellent cover of it. I like it better than the English version. Of course the words are different, but they fit the melody. It’s a good cover. You should check it out.
Richard W.
@Griffin Wagner Is that a good thing or a bad thing!
They might have started by watching your videos, who knows. The reason I say that is, I read or heard, that they taught themselves to play guitar from YouTube videos, then they started posting vids of themselves singing and playing. That spawned a go-fund-me thing, whatever it is they do to raise cash these days. When they got enough money, they took a Victor Hugo Poem, "Demain Dès L'aube," i.e., "Tomorrow at Dawn," and made it into a song, and recorded it ( they basically sang the poem) which I guess became a hit for them. It's the best poem ever written btw. The damned thing made me cry, and still does on occasion; in either English or French, the poem delivers the same punch in the chest. That's also worth a read...It's short.
Anyway, I love Les Frangines; some songs not so much, but some, I love. They have about 8 -10 that are great ( including covers which they always do better than the original). Their voices blend so well, and chicks singing in French, I kind of like that lol. They do a cool cover called "La Déclaration," but they air guitar it with tennis rackets in their hands which bugs me because they can play, at last strum the guitar. Of course they're on a tennis court at the time...Maybe its wink and a nod to the "Tennis Court Oath" which was the event that kind of started the French Revolution.
Eh bien! J'espère que vous les avez aimés (I hope you liked them) I use song to help me learn French.It makes it fun.
Griffin Wagner
Thanks for the recommendation, couldn't believe my ears
Ralph Ralpherson
Chorus doesnt sound right without the C# over that A. Its a continuation of the walkdown from G
Center Stage Guitar, Bass, and Ukulele Academy
Hey Ralph thanks for the comment. That makes sense. Not sure how I missed that. I will have to go back a listen. Any other lessons you are interested in?
Jane Hanser
Written by Steve Goodman.
DHP
So was John Denver.
Sylas Wojciechowski
dude, why is the audio all out of sync? No way I paying money for the tab if I cant even visualize it with the video