I &lt;3 Steve Goodman

I <3 Steve Goodman

Aug. 9th, 2004 at 2:43 PM

The City of New Orleans
by Steve Goodman

Riding on the City of New Orleans,
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,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

CHORUS:
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.

,,,

Current Mood: content
Current Music:"The City Of New Orleans" - Johnny Cash - September 3, 1973 (Live)

Comments

( 3 comments — Leave a comment )

rhiannonstone

Aug. 9th, 2004 06:56 pm (UTC)

This is one of my favorite songs EVAR. I have a Steve Goodman/John Prine version, and an Arlo Guthrie version. Somewhere in my ever-increasing collection of Johnny Cash, I'm sure I've got him singin' it, too. :)

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drmellow

Aug. 9th, 2004 07:09 pm (UTC)

One of these days I'm going to hunt down the Goodman/Prine version. I've heard the Arlo Guthrie version (the lyric cut-n-paste was from an Arlo fan site, in fact) as well as Wilie Nelson's version.

I don't know what it is about that song, but every time I hear it, I just have to sit back and enjoy it. I have similar reactions to a lot of train songs, but none of them as strong as with this one.

It's just a mighty fine song. I wish Goodman could have lived for a few more decades....

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