A long black engine keeps a rollin' along its wheels goin' clickety-clack
She's carryin' me to war that eastern seaboard Louisiana I ain't comin' back
And I sit all alone in an empty box listen to the engine roar
And I see the world that she oughta be seen through a crack in the boxcar door
A hobo's life is a lonely life and I'm restless son of a gun
So I'll keep a riding these ribbons of steel and wait for my setting sun
And I sit all alone...
The engineer is pullin' her down and I reckon we ain't goin' to stop
And I'll be a dodgin' the man that sticks I hear him a walkin' on top
And I sit all alone...
Most folks think I'm a crazy man at all of hoboes like me
But I let the bottle that holds all the world and I'll die happy and free
And I reckon I'll die in an empty box listen to the engine roar
I'll take the last long look at ther world that I love
Through a crack in thin boxcar door
I'll take the last long look...
