The City of New Orleans

Writers(s): Steve Goodman

Publisher(s): Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Ridin' on the City of New Orleans
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 freight yards full of old black men
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

Want to know the key and BPM?

Want more free tools for Musicians and Artists?

WAV to MP3

Quickly and easily convert WAVs into MP3s

BPM tapper

Tap or click the tempo to discover the BPM

Online metronome

Keep the beat no matter where you are

Large file transfers

Upload and share files as large as 3GB with anyone

Streaming royalties calculator

Calculate how much you can earn from streaming services

Guitar tuner

An online guitar tuner that's there whenever you need it

ISRC finder

Find any ISRC to any song with simply a name or song

Key/BPM finder

Quickly find the key or BPM to millions of songs