Lyrks
Lyrks
Lyrks
Cover Art

City New Orleans Lyrics by Steve Goodman

0

The City of New Orleans
Ridin' on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday mornin' rail;
Fourteen cars and fourteen restless riders
Three conductors, twenty five sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey, the train rolls out of Kankakee
Ridin' past the houses, farms and fields
Passin' trains that have no names, freight yards full of old black men
The graveyards of the rusted automobiles
Good mornin' America, how are you?
Say, 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 'fore the day is done
Dealin' card 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
Feel the wheels a-rumblin' 'neath the floor
And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers
Ride their fathers' magic carpet made of steel;
Mothers with their babes asleep, rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rythm of the rails is all they feel
Good day, America, how are you?
Say, 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 'fore the day is done
Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
Changin' cars in Memphis, Tennessee
Halfway home, we'll be there 'fore mornin'
Through the Mississippi darkness rollin' down to the sea
And all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream
And the steel wheels still ain't heard the news
The conductor sings his songs again, the passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearin' railroad blues
Good night, America, how are you?
Say, 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
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
Credits
Steve Goodman

Steve Goodman

About “City New Orleans” by Steve Goodman

Read the complete lyrics to "City New Orleans" by Steve Goodman. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Pop.

"City New Orleans" is performed by Steve Goodman. This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "City New Orleans", explore more songs by Steve Goodman using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

View all songs and biography for Steve Goodman · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"City New Orleans" is credited to Steve Goodman. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

Album information for "City New Orleans" is not available in our database yet. You can still read the full lyrics on this page.

Visit the Steve Goodman artist page at /artist/steve-goodman for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.