In the Dodge City of the Santa Fe Stood a freight up for the east And the engineer his oil and waste Was groomin' the iron beast While ten cars in the murky dust A door swung wide And a lifted his pal aboard To start on his last long
A swung and the freight pulled out The engine, it speed The engineer pulled the wide And clucked to his steed
Ten back in the empty box The hobo a pill The flare of the match showed his face Stark white and still As the train wheels clicked on the couplin' A for the rambler's ear The hobo talked to the still white His pal for many a
(Spoken) For a mighty long time, we've rambled, With the luck of men roam With the backdoor for a dining room And a for a home We the bulls on the Eastern route And the on the Chesapeake We travelled the narrow gauge In the of Cripple Creek We drifted thru sunny Cal On the rails of old S. P. And of all you had, good and bad A half always to me You made me promise to you If I lived, and you in To you back to the old church yard And you there with your kin You seemed to know I keep my word 'Cause you that I was right Well, I'm keepin' my to you, pal 'Cause I'm takin' you tonight I haven't the money to you there So, I'm takin' you on the fly the decent way for a 'bo to go to the by and by I knew that fever had you, Jack And doctor, he just wouldn't come He was too busy treatin' the folks To a worn-out bum
As the train rolled over its of steel Straight to the East it sped The engineer in his cab seat Kept his eye on the rails While ten back in the empty box A lonely sighed For the days of old and his pal, so Who was takin' his last long