Holly Near is a unique combination of entertainer, teacher and activist. An immense vocal talent, Near's career as a singer has been profoundly defined by an unwillingness to separate her passion for music from her passion for human dignity. She is a skilled performer and an outspoken ambassador for peace who brings to the stage an integration of world consciousness, spiritual discovery, and theatricality.
Holly was born to parents from the states of North Dakota and New York. They were political activists, ranchers, and supporters of culture in the rural community of Ukiah, California. Although Holly sang publicly from the time she was eight years old, her professional career began in her early twenties when she worked as an actress in film and television. She also appeared in Hair on Broadway. Eventually music returned to become her major focus, especially that music which articulated the social conditions of the world community.
In 1971, when she was 22 years old, Holly joined Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and other artists in the Free The Army Tour, singing to soldiers who were resisting war and racism from within the military. Near started writing and singing political songs. Following in the footsteps of such writers as Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Beverly Grant, and Hazel Dickens, she added newly discovered feminist perspective to anti-war songs and developed a unique and recognizable style.
Near was probably the first woman artist to start an independent record company when in 1972 she founded Redwood Records which became a major force in alternative music for nearly 20 years. Near's vision for Redwood was to promote and produce music by politically conscious artists from around the world, a mission fulfilled for almost two decades.
Finding herself at the forefront of a growing feminist movement, Near worked for world peace and multi-cultural consciousness. The world was her university and social change movements informed her songs. She sang the secrets long before such ideas found space in the major media. Near helped support the work of artists from Nicaragua, Chile, Australia, Canada, England, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Vietnam, El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States. She was outspoken on such issues as gay and lesbian rights, a woman's right to choose, stopping domestic violence, and opposing nuclear war.
Holly has traveled from the fields of central California singing in support of The United Farm Workers to El Salvador where she sang for peace amidst war and conflict. Her songs were sung clandestinely in Latin American prisons and sung boldly by Irish and English women who joined together to protest war. Whether in support of nurses striking for better conditions in the emergency room or in opposition to racist violence on the police force, Holly sings a bold truth.
A peace activist and advocate for human and civil rights, Holly has linked the multitude of issues that are our lives, refusing the idea of separate "causes." When asked how she keeps her energy for this work, she smiles: "I am selfish. I reach for the world I want to live in. And I believe in leaving our best efforts as a gift to our children."
Amidst all her work for peace and human rights, Holly is a consummate singer and entertainer. When she sings show tunes or songs from the 30s, her audience knows that Ms. Near could have chosen to be a Broadway musical star or a cabaret artist. And yet, these great songs come through Holly's unique world experience and we hear them as if for the first time. Out of this gentle, vibrant woman comes a huge voice, a unique sense of humor, an unexpected theatricality and a startling power. The moment she feels trapped in a genre, she breaks into a song that challenges the boxes and stereotypes.
In an interest to document social change music, Near's papers are archived with the Schlesinger Library at Radcliff. Near teaches performance craft and song writing. She has been a cultural leader for over 35 years and now shares her experience in creative and challenging master classes. Holly reminds both students and audience alike about the importance of their lives, and whenever they are with her, they feel a sense of being welcomed home.
Both as a participant and a leader, she bears personal witness to the hugely important role that music plays in political action movements. Throughout her lengthy career, Ms. Near has used her performances to educate, challenge, and inspire. The unifying and healing quality of her work explains the diverse nature of the groups who call on her to speak and sing.
She presented the 2004 Ware Lecture for the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in Long Beach, California; delivered the keynote address for Women Change America, a conference presented by the National Women's History Project at Smith College; spoke to participants at HerbFest in Iowa and the Bioneers Conference in California; and led a Martin Luther King Day celebration in Northern California. She participated and performed at the March For Women's Lives in Washington, DC and at the Stop The War demonstration in New York, NY before the US invasion into Iraq.
In 2004, Holly joined Eve Ensler for a march in Juarez, Mexico to protest the uninvestigated killing of hundreds of young women. In Toledo, Ohio, she sat witness to the testimony of women reporting rape and other violence against women. Holly helped raise funds for 10,000 Kites, a collaborative anti-war project between young people from Israel and Palestine who in spring of 2005, flew kites over the wall that separated them.
Last year, Holly joined thousands of protesters in Columbus, Georgia to demand that the infamous School of the Americas be closed down. She will attend again this year. Dictators and military police are trained at this school in skills that are used to destroy growing democracies, skills which include repression and torture.
Near's portrait hangs at The Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio along with those of other social change artists including Paul Robeson, Marion Anderson, Pete Seeger, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, and Woody Guthrie. She has received numerous awards for her work for social change, including honors from the ACLU, the National Lawyers Guild, the National Organization for Women, NARAS, Ms. Magazine (Woman of the Year), and the Legends of Women's Music Award. Most recently, she was one of 1000 PeaceWomen nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005.
Holly is not resting on her laurels, but continues to write and sing political songs with grace and humor. Holly Near's integrity earns her the reputation as one of the most articulate political artists of our time. Her newest CD, Show Up, proves that she continues to sing with a power and maturity that may only come from decades of love and fear, despair and inspiration.
City of New Orleans
Holly Near Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
Good morning America how are you?
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 with the old men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Won't you pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
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 steam.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.
Good morning America how are you?
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,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
Good night, America, how are you?
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 lyrics of Holly Near's song, City of New Orleans, depict a journey on a train that is filled with restless riders, conductors, and sacks of mail. The train departs from Kankakee and passes through a variety of locations like houses, farms, fields, and freight yards that are full of old black men and rusted automobiles. The train is The City of New Orleans and will cover a distance of 500 miles before the day is done. The train journey is a microcosm of the American way of life; it's diverse, multi-layered, and filled with surprises.
The song also portrays the train as a place where people come together to share each other’s stories and form connections. The old men in the club car deal cards and gamble, while the mothers with their sleeping babes are rocked by the gentle rhythm of the train. Even though it is a train journey, it is as if the travelers are part of one big family with shared emotions, hardships, and experiences. The song ends with the passengers being asked to refrain from singing, and the disappearing railroad blues is a symbol of the loss of the old way of life and a nostalgic reminder of simpler times.
Overall, the lyrics of City of New Orleans are rich in metaphors and symbols, describing the life of a traveler on a train, his experiences, and the landscape that he passes through. The song reflects on the broader aspects of American life, from its diversity and connectedness to its disappearing way of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Boarding the train named City of New Orleans to undertake a journey.
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
The train belongs to Illinois Central and the journey has begun in the morning of Monday.
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
There are fifteen train cars and fifteen anxious passengers.
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
The train is operated with the help of three conductors and carrying twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
Throughout the journey moving southwards,
The train pulls out at Kankakee
The train starts rolling from the station of Kankakee.
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
During the journey, the train passes by residential areas, farmlands, and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
The train crosses by anonymous trains that don't have a name of their own.
Freight yards full of old black men
The train passes by several yards filled with elderly black men who work in the freight industry.
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
The journey also passes through a place with many abandoned or discarded automobile graveyards.
Good morning America how are you?
Addressing America, a new day starts, how are things going?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
The artist identifies themselves as a native of the country.
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
Reiterating that the singer is a named train called The City of New Orleans.
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
After a 500-mile journey that will end when the sun goes down, the train will be gone.
Dealin' cards with the old men in the club car.
Some men on the train are playing cards with the older men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
They are keeping the score of the game by each penny gained, but nobody is keeping track.
Won't you pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Requesting the bag with the bottle of alcohol to drink.
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.
Sensing the strong vibrations from the train wheels beneath the floor of the car.
And the sons of Pullman porters
The descendants of former black Pullman porters.
And the sons of engineers
Also, the children of train engineers.
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steam.
They too enter father's legacy and ride on the train, as if it's pure magic.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
The mothers on the train rocking their sleeping babies.
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
Rocking their infants in time with the swaying of the train.
And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.
The constant motion of the train is so familiar to both mothers and their children that it even appears in their dreams.
Good morning America how are you?
A new morning, addressing America, how are things going today?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
Identifying oneself once again as a native of the country.
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
Reiterating once more that the singer is the train named City of New Orleans.
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
After the journey, as the sun sets, The City of New Orleans will be five hundred miles away.
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans,
At night, on the still-rolling train, the City of New Orleans.
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
The train stops in Memphis, Tennessee and passengers are always required to change cars to continue their journey.
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
The train is halfway home and speeds towards its destination to reach there by the morning.
Through the Mississippi darkness
The train is traveling through Mississippi's darkness (presumably).
Rolling down to the sea.
After passing through the wilderness, the train rolls down close to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
On the way, towns and people seem to blur away.
To fade into a bad dream
Gradually disappearing into a haze or an unpleasant dream.
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
As the train moves away, it suggests that rail tracks still don't know what happened there.
The conductor sings his song again,
The conductor starts to sing the same song.
The passengers will please refrain
As a mark of respect to the conductor, the passengers will not indulge in any activities while the song is sung.
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
The train embodies the idea of a vanishing railroad line, which reflects in their mood.
Good night, America, how are you?
At night, America is addressed once again, enquiring how's everything going?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
The artist reasserts that they are still America's native son.
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
The singer repeats that they are known as the same train again.
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Reiterating once again that after the long day, they will be five hundred miles away.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Steve Goodman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind