City Of New Orleans
John Prine / Steve Goodman Lyrics

Riding on the city of New Orleans
Traveling by train through the city of New Orleans

Illinois Central, Monday morning rail
Traveling on a Monday morning via the Illinois Central railway company

There are fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
The train has 15 cars and carrying 15 passengers who are restless

Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail
The train has 3 conductors and carrying 25 sacks of mail

They're all out on the southbound odyssey
All passengers are traveling towards the south

And the train pulls out of Kankakee
The train departs from Kankakee, Illinois

Rolls past the houses, farms and fields
The train passes by various types of landscapes such as houses, farms, and fields

Passin' towns that have no name
The train crosses through small towns that don't have a name

And freight yards full of old black men
Moving through the train tracks, you can see old black men in freight yards

And the graveyards of rusted automobiles
The train passes through junkyards with rusted automobiles

Singin', "Good morning America, how are ya?"
The passengers start singing a song to greet America in the morning

Sayin', "Don't ya know me? I'm your native son"
The song aims to remind everyone that we should all recognize that we're from the same country

Yes, I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
The song is about a train called City of New Orleans

And I'll be gone five hundred miles when day is done
The train will travel 500 miles today

And I was dealing cards with the old men in the club car
The singer was playing cards with old men inside the club car

And it's penny a point, there ain't no one keeping score
The game that they were playing involves betting with small amounts of money, and no one is keeping track of points.

Oh, won't ya past that paper bag that holds that bottle
The artist asks for the paper bag that holds a bottle of liquor

You can feel the wheels grumblin' through the floor
The train ride can be felt by the passengers through the rumble on the floor

And the sons of Pullman porters, the sons of engineers
The passengers are the sons of Pullman porters and engineers

They ride their father's magic carpet made of steel
The train is referred to as a magic carpet that the sons ride because of its fast speed

And mothers with the babes asleep
Mothers inside the train have their babies sleeping

Go rockin' to the gentle beat
They are swaying to the gentle sway and rhythm of the train

The rhythm of the rails is all they dream
All they dream is about the rhythm of the train on the rails

Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
The scene changes into night time aboard City of New Orleans

Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee
The passengers are changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee

It's halfway home and we'll be there by morning
They are halfway from their destination and expects to get there by morning

Through the Mississippi darkness rollin' to the sea
They travel through the dark Mississippi, heading towards the sea

And all the towns and people
The artist sees various towns and people while on the train ride

They seem to fade into a bad dream
All of these appear to be a blurry view as if they're a bad dream

The old steel rails, it ain't heard the news
The old steel rails still stand its ground and knows nothing about the news

The conductor sings his song again
The conductor sings another song

Its passengers'll please refrain
They are requesting passengers to remain quiet and listen to the conductor's song

This train's got the disappearing railroad blues
The train is disappearing into the horizon…its railroad is fading

Just a-singin', "Goodnight America, how are ya?"
The passengers sing Goodnight, America with some asking how America is doing

Sayin', "Don't ya know me? I'm your native son"
The song communicates that all people living in America should know that each one of them is related by blood, and therefore, they are all citizens of the same land

Well, I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
The artist announces once again that he is a train called City of New Orleans

And I'll be gone a long, long time when day is done
The singer acknowledges that he has left and will continue to leave for a long time after today as the day ends.