City of New Orleans – English Lyrics

• By: Steve Goodman, Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, John Denver, Johnny Cash, The Country Gentlemen, Judy Collins, Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Sammi Smith, Hank Snow, Gerard Cox, Rudi Carell, Joe Dassin, Richard Clayderman
• Album: Hobo's Lullaby

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a linguistic journey through 'City of New Orleans,' a timeless American folk classic. This song, rich with vivid imagery and storytelling, offers a window into American culture and history, particularly the romance of train travel. Learning the lyrics can enhance your English vocabulary related to landscapes, travel, and everyday observations, while the song's gentle rhythm and clear narrative make it an accessible and enjoyable way to practice listening comprehension.

[English]

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.

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' card with the old men in the club car.

Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.

Oh 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.*

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.

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
city /ˈsɪti/ A1	noun - a large town or metropolis
train /treɪn/ A1	noun - a series of connected railway carriages or wagons moved by a locomotive or by integral motors verb - teach (a person or animal) a particular skill or type of behavior through sustained practice and instruction.
morning /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/ A1	noun - the period of time between sunrise and noon
cars /kɑːrz/ A1	noun - a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and able to carry a small number of people
riders /ˈraɪdər/ A2	noun - a person who rides something
conductors /kənˈdʌktər/ B1	noun - a person who directs the performance of an orchestra or choir noun - the person in charge of a train.
mail /meɪl/ A2	noun - the system by which messages are conveyed
southbound /ˈsaʊθbaʊnd/ B1	adjective - traveling or heading south
pulls /pʊlz/ A1	verb - exert force on (someone or something) so as to cause movement towards oneself
houses /ˈhaʊzɪz/ A1	noun - a building for human habitation
farms /fɑːrmz/ A1	noun - an area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals
fields /fiːldz/ A1	noun - an area of open land, especially one planted with crops or pasture, typically bounded by hedges or fences
freight /freɪt/ B1	noun - goods transported by truck, train, ship, or aircraft
graveyards /ˈɡreɪvjɑːrd/ B2	noun - a burial ground; a cemetery
rusted /ˈrʌstɪd/ B1	adjective - affected by rust
automobiles /ˈɔːtəməbiːlz/ B2	noun - a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and able to carry a small number of people
native /ˈneɪtɪv/ B1	adjective - associated with the country, region, or circumstances of a person's birth.
score /skɔːr/ A2	noun - the number of points, goals, runs, etc. achieved in a game or contest verb - gain (a point, goal, run, etc.) in a game or contest.
wheels /wiːlz/ A1	noun - a circular object that revolves on an axle and is fixed below a vehicle or other object to enable it to move easily over the ground
sons /sʌnz/ A1	noun - a male child or person in relation to his parents
fathers /ˈfɑːðər/ A1	noun - a male parent verb - be the father of
mothers /ˈmʌðər/ A1	noun - a female parent
babes /beɪbz/ A2	noun - a baby or very young child
asleep /əˈsliːp/ A1	adjective - in a state of sleep
beat /biːt/ A2	noun - a main accent or rhythmic unit in music or poetry verb - strike (a person or animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or injure them
nighttime /ˈnaɪttaɪm/ A2	noun - the time from dusk till dawn when no sunlight is visible
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household adverb - to or at one's home
morning /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/ A1	noun - the period of time between sunrise and noon
darkness /ˈdɑːrknəs/ B1	noun - the state of being dark; absence of light
towns /taʊnz/ A1	noun - an urban area that has a name, defined boundaries, and local government, and that is generally larger than a village and smaller than a city
people /ˈpiːpl/ A1	noun - human beings in general or considered collectively
dream /driːm/ A1	noun - a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep verb - experience a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep
steel /stiːl/ A2	noun - a hard, strong, gray or bluish-gray alloy of iron with carbon and usually other elements, used extensively as a structural and fabricating material
sings /sɪŋz/ A1	verb - make musical sounds with the voice, especially words with a set tune
blues /bluːz/ B1	noun - melancholy, sadness, or depression

Key Grammar Structures

• Riding on the city of new orleans,

  ➔ Present participle as an adjective

  ➔ Here, “riding” modifies the subject of the unseen main clause (implied: "We are riding"). It describes the state of being on or aboard the train.

• Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,

  ➔ Parallel structure with compound nouns

  ➔ Uses repetition of “fifteen” to create a sense of scale, emphasizing the quantity of both cars and passengers.

• Passin' trains that have no names,

  ➔ Relative clause

  ➔ The clause “that have no names” modifies “trains”. It describes the kind of trains being passed.

• Don't you know me i'm your native son,

  ➔ Interrogative structure and appositive

  ➔ “Don’t you know me” is an interrogative structure used rhetorically. “I’m your native son” is an appositive explaining who “me” is. An appositive renames or describes the noun/pronoun it follows.

• I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

  ➔ Future tense with time clause

  ➔ “I’ll be gone” is in the future tense. “when the day is done” is a time clause indicating *when* the future action will be complete.

• Dealin' card with the old men in the club car.

  ➔ Present participle as main verb (non-standard)

  ➔ The verb “dealin’ ” is a shortened version of “dealing”, which functions as the primary verb in this phrase, denoting an ongoing action. Although it lacks an auxiliary verb (such as "are"), it is understood through context. Note the non-standard colloquial use of 'dealin' instead of 'dealing'.

• And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.

  ➔ Subject complement

  ➔ "all they dream" functions as the subject complement, renaming or describing the subject "the rhythm of the rails". It states what the subject is.