City of New Orleans
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics

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