In the City Yards 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 back in the murky dust A boxcar door wide And a hobo his pal aboard To start on his long ride
A lantern swung and the freight out The engine, it gathered The pulled the throttle wide And to his fiery steed
Ten cars in the empty box The rolled a pill The flare of the match his partner's face Stark and deathly still As the train wheels on the couplin' joints A for the rambler's ear The hobo to the still white form His pal for a year
(Spoken) For a mighty time, we've rambled, Jack With the luck of men roam With the backdoor steps for a room And a boxcar for a We the bulls on the Eastern route And the cops on the We travelled the Leadville gauge In the of Cripple Creek We drifted down sunny Cal On the of that old S. P. And of all you had, thru and bad A half belonged to me You made me promise to you If I lived, and you in To take you back to the old church And you there with your kin You seemed to know I would my word 'Cause you that I was right Well, I'm keepin' my to you, pal 'Cause I'm takin' you home I haven't the money to send you So, I'm takin' you on the fly It's the way for a 'bo to go to the by and by I knew that that had you, Jack And that doctor, he just wouldn't He was too treatin' the wealthy folks To a worn-out bum
As the train rolled its ribbons of steel thru to the East it sped The engineer in his cab seat Kept his eye on the ahead ten cars back in the empty box A lonely sighed For the days of old and his pal, so Who was takin' his last long