Midnight Train
Daniels Charlie Band Lyrics

Midnight train, roll on
The train should keep moving through the night

Clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin'
Make sure the tracks are free and the whistle is blowing

Take this stranger on to Santa Fe
Bring this mysterious person to Santa Fe

It seems like romance and danger
There's a feeling of both love and danger in the air

Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way
Accompany this tall, dark stranger for the entire journey

Well, the train was rumblin' through the night heading south to Santa Fe
The train was moving noisily and was on its way to Santa Fe

And in a fancy car with a private bar and a personal valet
The train had a luxurious car with a bar and personal servant

There was a bunch of cold eyed men sittin' at a poker table
Several men with cold expressions were playing poker

Bettin' hot stakes all around
They were placing high bets

Ole Louisiana Lou had a knife in his shoe was dealin'?
Louisiana Lou was cheating with a knife up his sleeve

A hand of cards and ole Stagger Lee Crocket had a gun in his pocket
Stagger Lee Crocket had a gun in his pocket while playing cards

Was sweatin' bettin' hard and over in the corner this Mexican guy
A Mexican man in the corner was sweating and gambling heavily

With two gold teeth and a patch on his eye took a long hard look around
The Mexican man had two gold teeth and a patched eye and looked around carefully

And then the door flew open, the stranger walked in
Suddenly, a stranger walked into the room

Said, 'don't y'all get excited, I know this here's a private game
The stranger assured them it was alright even though it was a private game

And I know I wasn't invited but I got a roll that?d choke a mule
The stranger revealed he had a lot of money with him

I'm just about a big enough fool to lay it all right down
And he was willing to gamble it all

And everybody nodded as the stranger took his seat
Everyone agreed as the stranger sat down to play

He knew this bunch of cutthroat?s would be mighty hard to beat
The stranger knew it would be difficult to win against these dangerous people

As the stranger knew then the toughest two by far were where he sat
The two most challenging opponents were sitting next to him

Was a pot belly fellow from south Alabama and a dude in a black felt hat
One was a pot-bellied man from Alabama and the other wore a black hat

Well, the stranger sat down he looked around at all them evil faces
The stranger sat down and noticed the wicked expressions on everyone's faces

And the pot-belly fellow drew a pair of queens but the stranger
The pot-bellied man drew two queens, but the stranger

He drew aces and he kept on raising and pushin' his luck
Drew two aces and continued to raise his bets

Kept on winning like a run away truck he was giving them a beating
The stranger was winning very quickly and thoroughly

And the stakes got higher than a Chinese kite, the stranger
As the bets got higher, the stranger

Kept getting hot till every cent everybody had was lying out in the pot
Continued to raise bets until everyone had bet everything they had

And then the stranger threw down a royal flush, somebody said 'Hey man, that's enough friend I think you've been cheatin'
Then the stranger revealed a royal flush, and someone accused him of cheating

And then the stranger picked the money up and said, 'Boys I better run?
The stranger took the money and decided to leave

And then the pot-bellied fella pulled a razor out, somebody pulled a gun
The pot-bellied man pulled out a razor, and someone else pulled out a gun

They said, 'You may think you're a sly old fox, you're gonna leave here
They told him he wouldn't leave the place alive if he didn't return the money

In a long pine box if you don't leave that money alone'
They threatened to kill him if he didn't return the money

Just about then the lights went out and they all started fussin'
Suddenly, the lights went out, and they started arguing

And the lights came on, the stranger was gone, they all started cussin'
When the lights came on, the stranger had disappeared, and they cursed

And they searched that train from front to rear
They searched the train thoroughly

That stranger he done disappeared and all their money was gone
The stranger had vanished, along with all the money

When the train pulled in the station, with the whistle blowin' loud
When the train eventually arrived at the station with a loud whistle sound

A telegram was waitin' from the stranger for the crowd
There was a telegram waiting from the stranger for everyone

Said 'Thank you for the money boys but don't feel too outdone
The telegram said the stranger appreciated the money but that they shouldn't feel too cheated

'Cause it takes a dog to know a dog I'm a howlin' son of a gun'
The stranger claimed to be an expert in this sort of trickery

Oh, he's long gone
The stranger is long gone