Pictorial Tour:
City of New Orleans Train and associated images.
Good Mornin' America
"The City of New Orleans,"
probably the most famous song written by the late Chicago singer and composer Steve Goodman, was a popular hit in 1972 after being recorded by folk singer Arlo Guthrie.
Goodman himself also had recorded it, as had folk singer Judy Collins and Willie Nelson, but the Guthrie recording is still best known and immediately recognized.
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.
Dealin' cards with the old men in the club car.*
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Won't you pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
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 steam.*
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.*
CHORUS
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
Good night, 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.
The City of New Orleans
(c) Copyright 1970 by Steve Goodman
*Arlo Guthrie and others have substituted the
word "steel" for "steam" and "feel" for "dream",
also "card games" for "cards"
Arlo Guthrie-The Train They Call The City Of New Orleans
Dedicated to the Illinois Central's most famous train. [brian1993] Railfan International Productions, NCStL576's Channel - Tennessee Central Railroad
~~~~~
This classic tune captured the timeless soul of the American countryside and the golden era when people crossed it by train. Immortalized by the magical voice of Arlo Guthrie and sung around campfires by millions, "City of New Orleans" narrates the journey of the train with that name as it runs from snowy, industrial Chicago through small Midwestern towns, Memphis, Tennessee, the Mississippi Delta, to lush Louisiana.
All aboard, music lovers.
On the City of New Orleans, you'll trace the history of jazz, ragtime, blues and rock and roll. Head from the glimmering skyscrapers of the Windy City to the cultural havens and stately plantations which make the South unique.
After local stops in southern Illinois through the night, you'll awaken to the sights and sounds of Memphis. Keep an eye out for the Great American Pyramid, Graceland and the National Civil Rights Museum. Next stop is Jackson, after which you'll glide past the catfish ponds and cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta. The grand finale takes you through Bayou country and along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain into New Orleans, where you can make convenient cruise connections to the Caribbean and the Mississippi River.
The "City of New Orleans"
Covington, TN - 1959
(Click) grammys.com -- Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners List
By Steve Goodman
Read by Tom Chapin
Illustrated by by Michael McMurdy
Best Spoken Word Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.)
The Train They Call The City Of New Orleans
Tom does all the voices, sings the song and helps provide background music.
Hardcover Book with tape or CD (approximately 10 minutes).
[Live Oak Media]
