All Aboard! - John Denver
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All Aboard!

1997
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Track List
  1. Jenny Dreamed of Trains

    Jenny Dreamed of Trains

    When Jenny was a little girl, she only dreamed of trains
    She never played with dolls or lacy kinds of things
    Jenny counted boxcars instead of counting sheep
    She could go anywhere when she went to sleep

    All she ever talked about was getting on to ride
    She was living in another time you could see it in her eyes
    And every day after school shed head down to the track
    Waiting for the train that was never coming back

    Jenny dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    The depots been boarded up, the rails have turned to rust
    There hasnt been a train through here since the mill went bust
    No one believed her when she said she heard the train
    Said she was just a little girl acting kind of strange

    Jenny dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    Jenny laid a penny on the track one day
    In God we trust she walked away
    The very next morning all she could find
    Was a little piece of copper squashed flatter than a dime

    Jenny dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    (written by Vince Gill and Guy Clark)

  2. Freight Train Boogie/Choo Choo Ch’Boogie

    Freight Train Boogie/Choo Choo Ch’Boogie

    Casey Jones was a mighty man, now he’s resting in the Promised Land.
    The only thing he could understand was an eight-wheel driver under his command.
    He made the freight train boogie all the time.
    He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.

    Woo woo, wah wah, woo woo, wah wah. Woo woo, wah wah, woo woo, wah wah.

    He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.
    I’m headed for the station with my pack on my back,
    I’m tired of transportation in the back of a hack.
    I just love the rhythm of the clickity-clack,
    I hear the whistle blowing, see the smoke from the stack.
    And pal around with democratic fellas named Mac,
    Take me right back to the track, Jack.

    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch’boogie.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, take me right back to the track, Jack.

    You reach your destination and alas and alack,
    You need some compensation to get back in the black.
    You take a morning paper from the top of the stack
    and read the situation from the front to the back.
    The only job that’s open needs a man with a knack,
    take me right back to the track, Jack.

    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch’boogie.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, take me right back to the track, Jack.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch’boogie.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie,

    He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.

    (written by Griffin/Horton, Darling, Gabler)

  3. Steel Rails

    Steel Rails

    Steel Rails, chasing sunshine round the bend
    Winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind
    I dont mind not knowing what lies down the track
    Cause Im looking out ahead
    To keep my mind from turning back

    Its not the first time, I find myself alone at dawn
    If I really had you once, I still have you when I’m gone
    Whistle blowing, blowing lonesome in my mind
    Calling me along that never ending double line

    Steel Rails, chasing sunshine round the bend
    Winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind
    I dont mind not knowing what lies down the track
    Cause Im looking out ahead to keep my mind from turning back

    The sun is shining through the open boxcar door
    Lying in my mind with the things Ive known before
    And Ive lost count of all the hours, days and time
    Just the rhythm of the rails keeps the motion in my mind

    Steel Rails, chasing sunshine round the bend
    Winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind
    I dont mind not knowing what lies down the track
    Cause Im looking out ahead to keep my mind from turning back

    (written by Louisa Banscomb)

  4. Waiting For A Train

    Waiting For A Train

    All around the water tower
    Waiting for a train
    A thousand miles away from home
    Sleeping in the rain I walked up to a brakeman
    Just to give him a line of talk
    He said if you’ve got money
    I’ll see that you don’t walk
    Well I haven’t got a nickel
    Not a penny can 1 show
    Get off, get off you railroad bum
    And he slammed that boxcar door

    Well, he put me off in Texas
    [| From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/john-denver-lyrics/waiting-for-a-train-lyrics.html |]
    A state I dearly love
    The wide open spaces all around me
    The moon and stars up above
    Nobody seems to want me
    Nor to lend me a helping hand
    I’m on my way from Frisco
    Going back to Dixieland
    My pocketbook is empty
    My heart is full of pain
    I’m a thousand miles away from home
    Just waiting for a train

    (written by Jimmie Rodgers)

  5. I’ve Been Working on the Railroad

    I’ve Been Working on the Railroad

    I’ve been working on the railroad all the livelong day.
    I’ve been working on the railroad just to pass the time away.
    Can’t you hear the whistle blowing, rise up so early in the morn.
    Can’t you hear the whistle blowing, Dinah, blow your horn.
    Dinah, won’t you blow, Dinah, won’t you blow,
    Dinah, won’t you blow your horn?
    Dinah, won’t you blow, Dinah, won’t you blow,
    Dinah, won’t you blow your horn?

    Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah, someone’s in the kitchen I know.
    Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah strumming on the old banjo.
    Fee fie fiddle eeii o, fee fie fiddle eeii o, fee fie fiddle eeii o,
    strumming on the old banjo.

     

  6. On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe

    On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe

    Do you hear that whistle down the line
    I figure that its Engine Number 49
    Shes the only one thatll sound that way
    On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    See the old smoke rising round the bend
    I reckon that she knows shes gonna meet a friend
    Folks around these parts set the time of day
    From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    Here she comes whoo oo oo oo
    Hey Jim, you better get the rig whoo oo oo oo
    Shes got a list of passengers thats pretty big

    And theyll all want a lift to Browns Hotel
    Cause lots of them been traveling for quite a spell
    All the way from Philadel phi a
    On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    All Aboard! All Aboard!

    Let her rip, let her rip, Mr. Engineer
    Gotta go, gotta go far away from here
    While the man at the fire, shovels in the coals
    Stick your head out the cab and watch the drivers roll
    See the towns and the roads go a whizzing by
    Fare-the-well Laramie and Rocky Mountain High
    Yes sirree, here we are, going all the way
    Mustnt quit till we hit Califor ni a

    See the old smoke rising round the bend
    I reckon that she knows shes gonna meet a friend
    Folks around these parts set the time of day
    From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    (written by Johnny Mercer)

  7. Old Train

    Old Train

    Old Train, I can hear your whistle blow
    And I want to be jumping on again
    Old Train, I’ve been everywhere you go
    And I know what lies beyond each bend

    Old Train, each time you pass
    Youre older than the last
    And it seems Im too old for running
    I hear your rusty wheels grate against the rails
    They cry with every mile
    And I think Ill stay awhile

    Old Train, I grow weary at the miles
    And I miss the freedom that was mine
    Old Train, just to think about those times
    Ill smile when youre highballing by

    Old Train, each time you pass
    Youre older than the last
    And It seems Im too old for running
    I hear your rusty wheels grate against the rails
    They cry with every mile
    And I think Ill stay awhile

    (written by Herb Pedersen)

  8. Daddy, What’s A Train?

    Daddy, What’s A Train?

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    When I was just a boy and living by the track
    Us kids would gather up the coal in big ole gunnysacks
    Then we heard the warning sound as the train pulled into view
    The engineer would smile and wave as she went rolling through

    She blew so loud and clear, we had to cover up our ears
    And we counted cars just as high as we could go
    I can almost hear the steam those big old drivers scream
    A sound my little kids will never know

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    I guess the times have changed, kids are different now
    Cause some dont even seem to know that milk comes from a cow
    My little boy can tell the names of all the baseball stars
    I remember how we memorized the names on railroad cars

    The Wabash and the TP, Lackawanna, the IC
    The Nichel-Plate and the good old Santa Fe
    Just names out of the past, I guess theyre fading fast
    Every time I hear my little boy say

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    We climbed into the car, drove down into town
    Right up to the depot house, but no one was around
    We searched the yard together for something I could show
    But I knew there hadnt been a train for a dozen years or so

    All the things I did when I was just a kid
    How far away those memories appear
    I guess its plain to see they still mean a lot to me
    Cause my ambition was to be an engineer

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    (written by Bruce U. Utah Phillips)

  9. The Little Engine That Could

    The Little Engine That Could

    There was a little railroad train with loads and loads of toys
    All starting out to find a home with little girls and boys
    And as that little railroad train began to chug along
    The little engine up in front was heard to sing this song
    Choo, choo, choo, choo
    Choo, choo, choo, choo
    I feel so good today
    Oh hear the track
    Oh clickety clack
    Ill go my merry way

    The little train went rousing on so fast it seemed to fly
    Until it reached a mountain that went almost to the sky
    The Little engine moaned and groaned and huffed and puffed away
    But halfway to the top it just gave up and seemed to say
    I cant go
    I cant go
    Im weary as can be
    I cant go
    I cant go
    This job is not for me

    The toys got out to push but all in vain alas alack
    And then a great big engine came a whistling down the track
    They asked if it would kindly pull them up the mountain side
    But with a high and mighty sneer it scornfully replied I
    Dont bother me
    Dont bother me
    To pull the likes of you
    Dont bother me
    Dont bother me
    Ive better things to do

    The toys all started crying cause that engine was so mean
    And then there came another one, the smallest ever seen
    And though it seemed that she could hardly pull herself along
    She hitched on to the train and as she pulled she sang this song
    I think I can
    I think I can
    I think I have a plan
    And I can do most anything
    If I only think I can

    Then up that great big mountain with the cars all full of toys
    And soon they reached the waiting arms of little girls and boy
    And though that ends the story it will do you lots of good
    To take a lesson from the little engine that could
    Just think you can
    Just think you can
    Just have that understood
    And very soon youll start to say
    I always knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could, yeah!

    (written by William May)

  10. Last Train Done Gone Down

    Last Train Done Gone Down

    That last train done left town
    That last train done left town
    I heard the whistle moaning low
    That last train done gone down

    My sweet babys on that train
    My sweet babys on that train
    I wonder if I will see her again
    That last train done gone down

    I heard that whistle moanin low
    I heard that whistle moanin low
    Im begging and pleading, please dont go
    That last train done gone down

    Im sorry for what Ive done
    Im sorry for what Ive done
    Too late good-bye, my sweet baby cried
    That last train done left town

    That last train done left town
    That last train done left town
    I heard that whistle moanin low
    That last train done gone down

    (written by Peter Rowan)

  11. Last Hobo

    Last Hobo

    He was born in International Falls a long, long time ago
    Moved to Tucumcan when the ironwork got show
    He was cornbread and hard scrabble and scratching for every dime
    Till he threw it in and he kilt the road to walk that endless line

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Leaving here

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Away from here

    He tried his hand at lots of jobs and he did em all with pride
    From shoeing mules to driving trucks, he mastered what he tried
    It must have been Ramona, she was all he cared about
    When she ran away and left him you could see the fire go out

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Away from here

    We hardly ever see him
    Once or twice and he would stay a day or two
    Hed ask about Ramona
    Then hed say that he was only passing through
    Now he knows every railroad bull along the right of way
    And every hobo jungle from New York to Santa Fe
    Hes looked for his Ramona on the far side of the hill
    Now his sun is sinking lower and hes looking for her still

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Leaving from here

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Away from here

    (written by George Allen)

  12. People Get Ready

    People Get Ready

    People get ready, theres a train a coming
    You dont need no baggage, you just get on board
    All you need is faith to hear those diesels humming
    You dont need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

    People get ready, for the train to Jordan
    Picking up passengers from coast-to-coast
    Faith is key, open up the doors and board them
    Theres hope for all among the loved the most

    But there aint no room for the hopeless sinner
    Who would hurt all mankind to save his own
    Mave pity on those whose choices grow thinner
    Theres no hiding place from the kingdoms throne

    People get ready, theres a train a coming
    You dont need no baggage, you just get on board
    All you need is faith to hear those diesels humming
    You dont need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
    Thank the Lord

    (written by Curtis Mayfield)

  13. Lining Track

    Lining Track

    Mo boys, is you right
    Done got it right
    All I hate about linin track
    These ol boys are gonna break my back

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Down in the holler below the fleld
    Angels working on the chariot wheel

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Mary and the babe was a sittin in the shade
    Thinking on the money that I aint made

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Moses stood on the Red Sea shore
    Gotta batten down the waves with a 2 by 4

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Now if I could I surely would
    Stand on the rock where Moses stood

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
    All them disciples dead and gone

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Mo boys, is you right
    Done got it right
    All I hate about lining track
    These ol boys about to break my back

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    (written by Huddie Ledbetter)

  14. City of New Orleans

    City of New Orleans

    Riding on the City of New Orleans
    Illinios Central, Monday morning rail
    15 cars and 15 restless riders
    3 conductors and 25 sacks of mail
    All along a southbound odyssey
    The train pulls out of Kankakee
    Rolls along past houses, farms and fields
    Passing trains that have no name
    Freight yards full of old black men
    The graveyards of the rusted automobiles

    Singing good morning America, how are you?
    Saying, don’t you know me Im your native son?
    Im the train they call the City of New Orleans
    I’ll be gone 500 miles when the day is done

    Dealing cards with the old men in the club car
    Penny a point, aint no one keeping score
    Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
    Feel the wheels a rumbling neath the floor

    And the sons of Pullman porters
    And the sons of engineers
    Ride their fathers magic carpet made of steel
    And mothers with their babes asleep
    Rockin to the gentle beat
    And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel
    Singing good morning America, how are you?
    Saying dont you know me, I’m your native son?
    Im the train they call the City of New Orleans
    Ill be gone 500 miles when the day is done

    Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
    Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee
    Halfway home and well be there by morning
    Through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea
    But all the towns and people seem
    To fade into a bad dream
    And the steel rails still aint heard the news
    The conductor sings his song again
    The passengers will please refrain
    This train has got the disappearing railroad blues

    Singing good morning America, how are you?
    Saying dont you know me, I’m your native son?
    Im the train they call the City of New Orleans
    Ill be gone 500 miles when the day is done

    (written by Steve Goodman)

  15. Jessie Dreamed of Trains

    Jessie Dreamed of Trains

    When Jesse was a little girl, she only dreamed of trains
    She never played with dolls or lacy kinds of things
    Jesse counted boxcars instead of counting sheep
    She could go anywhere when she went to sleep

    Jesse laid a penny on the track one day
    In God we trust she walked away
    The very next morning all she could find
    Was a little piece of copper squashed flatter than a dime

    Jesse dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jesse dreamed of trains

    (written by Vince Gill)

Track List
  1. Jenny Dreamed of Trains

    Jenny Dreamed of Trains

    When Jenny was a little girl, she only dreamed of trains
    She never played with dolls or lacy kinds of things
    Jenny counted boxcars instead of counting sheep
    She could go anywhere when she went to sleep

    All she ever talked about was getting on to ride
    She was living in another time you could see it in her eyes
    And every day after school shed head down to the track
    Waiting for the train that was never coming back

    Jenny dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    The depots been boarded up, the rails have turned to rust
    There hasnt been a train through here since the mill went bust
    No one believed her when she said she heard the train
    Said she was just a little girl acting kind of strange

    Jenny dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    Jenny laid a penny on the track one day
    In God we trust she walked away
    The very next morning all she could find
    Was a little piece of copper squashed flatter than a dime

    Jenny dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jenny dreamed of trains

    (written by Vince Gill and Guy Clark)

  2. Freight Train Boogie/Choo Choo Ch’Boogie

    Freight Train Boogie/Choo Choo Ch’Boogie

    Casey Jones was a mighty man, now he’s resting in the Promised Land.
    The only thing he could understand was an eight-wheel driver under his command.
    He made the freight train boogie all the time.
    He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.

    Woo woo, wah wah, woo woo, wah wah. Woo woo, wah wah, woo woo, wah wah.

    He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.
    I’m headed for the station with my pack on my back,
    I’m tired of transportation in the back of a hack.
    I just love the rhythm of the clickity-clack,
    I hear the whistle blowing, see the smoke from the stack.
    And pal around with democratic fellas named Mac,
    Take me right back to the track, Jack.

    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch’boogie.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, take me right back to the track, Jack.

    You reach your destination and alas and alack,
    You need some compensation to get back in the black.
    You take a morning paper from the top of the stack
    and read the situation from the front to the back.
    The only job that’s open needs a man with a knack,
    take me right back to the track, Jack.

    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch’boogie.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, take me right back to the track, Jack.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie, woo woo, woo woo ch’boogie.
    Choo choo, choo choo ch’boogie,

    He made the freight train boogie as he rolled down the line.

    (written by Griffin/Horton, Darling, Gabler)

  3. Steel Rails

    Steel Rails

    Steel Rails, chasing sunshine round the bend
    Winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind
    I dont mind not knowing what lies down the track
    Cause Im looking out ahead
    To keep my mind from turning back

    Its not the first time, I find myself alone at dawn
    If I really had you once, I still have you when I’m gone
    Whistle blowing, blowing lonesome in my mind
    Calling me along that never ending double line

    Steel Rails, chasing sunshine round the bend
    Winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind
    I dont mind not knowing what lies down the track
    Cause Im looking out ahead to keep my mind from turning back

    The sun is shining through the open boxcar door
    Lying in my mind with the things Ive known before
    And Ive lost count of all the hours, days and time
    Just the rhythm of the rails keeps the motion in my mind

    Steel Rails, chasing sunshine round the bend
    Winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind
    I dont mind not knowing what lies down the track
    Cause Im looking out ahead to keep my mind from turning back

    (written by Louisa Banscomb)

  4. Waiting For A Train

    Waiting For A Train

    All around the water tower
    Waiting for a train
    A thousand miles away from home
    Sleeping in the rain I walked up to a brakeman
    Just to give him a line of talk
    He said if you’ve got money
    I’ll see that you don’t walk
    Well I haven’t got a nickel
    Not a penny can 1 show
    Get off, get off you railroad bum
    And he slammed that boxcar door

    Well, he put me off in Texas
    [| From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/john-denver-lyrics/waiting-for-a-train-lyrics.html |]
    A state I dearly love
    The wide open spaces all around me
    The moon and stars up above
    Nobody seems to want me
    Nor to lend me a helping hand
    I’m on my way from Frisco
    Going back to Dixieland
    My pocketbook is empty
    My heart is full of pain
    I’m a thousand miles away from home
    Just waiting for a train

    (written by Jimmie Rodgers)

  5. I’ve Been Working on the Railroad

    I’ve Been Working on the Railroad

    I’ve been working on the railroad all the livelong day.
    I’ve been working on the railroad just to pass the time away.
    Can’t you hear the whistle blowing, rise up so early in the morn.
    Can’t you hear the whistle blowing, Dinah, blow your horn.
    Dinah, won’t you blow, Dinah, won’t you blow,
    Dinah, won’t you blow your horn?
    Dinah, won’t you blow, Dinah, won’t you blow,
    Dinah, won’t you blow your horn?

    Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah, someone’s in the kitchen I know.
    Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah strumming on the old banjo.
    Fee fie fiddle eeii o, fee fie fiddle eeii o, fee fie fiddle eeii o,
    strumming on the old banjo.

     

  6. On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe

    On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe

    Do you hear that whistle down the line
    I figure that its Engine Number 49
    Shes the only one thatll sound that way
    On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    See the old smoke rising round the bend
    I reckon that she knows shes gonna meet a friend
    Folks around these parts set the time of day
    From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    Here she comes whoo oo oo oo
    Hey Jim, you better get the rig whoo oo oo oo
    Shes got a list of passengers thats pretty big

    And theyll all want a lift to Browns Hotel
    Cause lots of them been traveling for quite a spell
    All the way from Philadel phi a
    On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    All Aboard! All Aboard!

    Let her rip, let her rip, Mr. Engineer
    Gotta go, gotta go far away from here
    While the man at the fire, shovels in the coals
    Stick your head out the cab and watch the drivers roll
    See the towns and the roads go a whizzing by
    Fare-the-well Laramie and Rocky Mountain High
    Yes sirree, here we are, going all the way
    Mustnt quit till we hit Califor ni a

    See the old smoke rising round the bend
    I reckon that she knows shes gonna meet a friend
    Folks around these parts set the time of day
    From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

    (written by Johnny Mercer)

  7. Old Train

    Old Train

    Old Train, I can hear your whistle blow
    And I want to be jumping on again
    Old Train, I’ve been everywhere you go
    And I know what lies beyond each bend

    Old Train, each time you pass
    Youre older than the last
    And it seems Im too old for running
    I hear your rusty wheels grate against the rails
    They cry with every mile
    And I think Ill stay awhile

    Old Train, I grow weary at the miles
    And I miss the freedom that was mine
    Old Train, just to think about those times
    Ill smile when youre highballing by

    Old Train, each time you pass
    Youre older than the last
    And It seems Im too old for running
    I hear your rusty wheels grate against the rails
    They cry with every mile
    And I think Ill stay awhile

    (written by Herb Pedersen)

  8. Daddy, What’s A Train?

    Daddy, What’s A Train?

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    When I was just a boy and living by the track
    Us kids would gather up the coal in big ole gunnysacks
    Then we heard the warning sound as the train pulled into view
    The engineer would smile and wave as she went rolling through

    She blew so loud and clear, we had to cover up our ears
    And we counted cars just as high as we could go
    I can almost hear the steam those big old drivers scream
    A sound my little kids will never know

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    I guess the times have changed, kids are different now
    Cause some dont even seem to know that milk comes from a cow
    My little boy can tell the names of all the baseball stars
    I remember how we memorized the names on railroad cars

    The Wabash and the TP, Lackawanna, the IC
    The Nichel-Plate and the good old Santa Fe
    Just names out of the past, I guess theyre fading fast
    Every time I hear my little boy say

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    We climbed into the car, drove down into town
    Right up to the depot house, but no one was around
    We searched the yard together for something I could show
    But I knew there hadnt been a train for a dozen years or so

    All the things I did when I was just a kid
    How far away those memories appear
    I guess its plain to see they still mean a lot to me
    Cause my ambition was to be an engineer

    Daddy, whats a train? Is it something I can ride?
    Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
    Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
    When my little boy and girl ask me Daddy, whats a train?

    (written by Bruce U. Utah Phillips)

  9. The Little Engine That Could

    The Little Engine That Could

    There was a little railroad train with loads and loads of toys
    All starting out to find a home with little girls and boys
    And as that little railroad train began to chug along
    The little engine up in front was heard to sing this song
    Choo, choo, choo, choo
    Choo, choo, choo, choo
    I feel so good today
    Oh hear the track
    Oh clickety clack
    Ill go my merry way

    The little train went rousing on so fast it seemed to fly
    Until it reached a mountain that went almost to the sky
    The Little engine moaned and groaned and huffed and puffed away
    But halfway to the top it just gave up and seemed to say
    I cant go
    I cant go
    Im weary as can be
    I cant go
    I cant go
    This job is not for me

    The toys got out to push but all in vain alas alack
    And then a great big engine came a whistling down the track
    They asked if it would kindly pull them up the mountain side
    But with a high and mighty sneer it scornfully replied I
    Dont bother me
    Dont bother me
    To pull the likes of you
    Dont bother me
    Dont bother me
    Ive better things to do

    The toys all started crying cause that engine was so mean
    And then there came another one, the smallest ever seen
    And though it seemed that she could hardly pull herself along
    She hitched on to the train and as she pulled she sang this song
    I think I can
    I think I can
    I think I have a plan
    And I can do most anything
    If I only think I can

    Then up that great big mountain with the cars all full of toys
    And soon they reached the waiting arms of little girls and boy
    And though that ends the story it will do you lots of good
    To take a lesson from the little engine that could
    Just think you can
    Just think you can
    Just have that understood
    And very soon youll start to say
    I always knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could
    I knew I could, yeah!

    (written by William May)

  10. Last Train Done Gone Down

    Last Train Done Gone Down

    That last train done left town
    That last train done left town
    I heard the whistle moaning low
    That last train done gone down

    My sweet babys on that train
    My sweet babys on that train
    I wonder if I will see her again
    That last train done gone down

    I heard that whistle moanin low
    I heard that whistle moanin low
    Im begging and pleading, please dont go
    That last train done gone down

    Im sorry for what Ive done
    Im sorry for what Ive done
    Too late good-bye, my sweet baby cried
    That last train done left town

    That last train done left town
    That last train done left town
    I heard that whistle moanin low
    That last train done gone down

    (written by Peter Rowan)

  11. Last Hobo

    Last Hobo

    He was born in International Falls a long, long time ago
    Moved to Tucumcan when the ironwork got show
    He was cornbread and hard scrabble and scratching for every dime
    Till he threw it in and he kilt the road to walk that endless line

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Leaving here

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Away from here

    He tried his hand at lots of jobs and he did em all with pride
    From shoeing mules to driving trucks, he mastered what he tried
    It must have been Ramona, she was all he cared about
    When she ran away and left him you could see the fire go out

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Away from here

    We hardly ever see him
    Once or twice and he would stay a day or two
    Hed ask about Ramona
    Then hed say that he was only passing through
    Now he knows every railroad bull along the right of way
    And every hobo jungle from New York to Santa Fe
    Hes looked for his Ramona on the far side of the hill
    Now his sun is sinking lower and hes looking for her still

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Leaving from here

    Now hes The Last Hobo
    Riding the last boxcar
    On the last freight train
    Away from here

    (written by George Allen)

  12. People Get Ready

    People Get Ready

    People get ready, theres a train a coming
    You dont need no baggage, you just get on board
    All you need is faith to hear those diesels humming
    You dont need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

    People get ready, for the train to Jordan
    Picking up passengers from coast-to-coast
    Faith is key, open up the doors and board them
    Theres hope for all among the loved the most

    But there aint no room for the hopeless sinner
    Who would hurt all mankind to save his own
    Mave pity on those whose choices grow thinner
    Theres no hiding place from the kingdoms throne

    People get ready, theres a train a coming
    You dont need no baggage, you just get on board
    All you need is faith to hear those diesels humming
    You dont need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
    Thank the Lord

    (written by Curtis Mayfield)

  13. Lining Track

    Lining Track

    Mo boys, is you right
    Done got it right
    All I hate about linin track
    These ol boys are gonna break my back

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Down in the holler below the fleld
    Angels working on the chariot wheel

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Mary and the babe was a sittin in the shade
    Thinking on the money that I aint made

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Moses stood on the Red Sea shore
    Gotta batten down the waves with a 2 by 4

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Now if I could I surely would
    Stand on the rock where Moses stood

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
    All them disciples dead and gone

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    Mo boys, is you right
    Done got it right
    All I hate about lining track
    These ol boys about to break my back

    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    Mo boys, cant you line em (track a lack)
    See Eloise gonna line em track

    (written by Huddie Ledbetter)

  14. City of New Orleans

    City of New Orleans

    Riding on the City of New Orleans
    Illinios Central, Monday morning rail
    15 cars and 15 restless riders
    3 conductors and 25 sacks of mail
    All along a southbound odyssey
    The train pulls out of Kankakee
    Rolls along past houses, farms and fields
    Passing trains that have no name
    Freight yards full of old black men
    The graveyards of the rusted automobiles

    Singing good morning America, how are you?
    Saying, don’t you know me Im your native son?
    Im the train they call the City of New Orleans
    I’ll be gone 500 miles when the day is done

    Dealing cards with the old men in the club car
    Penny a point, aint no one keeping score
    Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
    Feel the wheels a rumbling neath the floor

    And the sons of Pullman porters
    And the sons of engineers
    Ride their fathers magic carpet made of steel
    And mothers with their babes asleep
    Rockin to the gentle beat
    And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel
    Singing good morning America, how are you?
    Saying dont you know me, I’m your native son?
    Im the train they call the City of New Orleans
    Ill be gone 500 miles when the day is done

    Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
    Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee
    Halfway home and well be there by morning
    Through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea
    But all the towns and people seem
    To fade into a bad dream
    And the steel rails still aint heard the news
    The conductor sings his song again
    The passengers will please refrain
    This train has got the disappearing railroad blues

    Singing good morning America, how are you?
    Saying dont you know me, I’m your native son?
    Im the train they call the City of New Orleans
    Ill be gone 500 miles when the day is done

    (written by Steve Goodman)

  15. Jessie Dreamed of Trains

    Jessie Dreamed of Trains

    When Jesse was a little girl, she only dreamed of trains
    She never played with dolls or lacy kinds of things
    Jesse counted boxcars instead of counting sheep
    She could go anywhere when she went to sleep

    Jesse laid a penny on the track one day
    In God we trust she walked away
    The very next morning all she could find
    Was a little piece of copper squashed flatter than a dime

    Jesse dreamed of trains
    When the nighttime came
    Nobody knew how she made it come true
    Jesse dreamed of trains

    (written by Vince Gill)

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