In the Dodge Yards of the Santa Fe Stood a made up for the east And the engineer his oil and waste Was groomin' the great beast ten cars back in the murky dust A door swung wide And a hobo his pal aboard To start on his last long
A lantern and the freight pulled out The engine, it gathered The engineer pulled the throttle And to his fiery steed
Ten cars in the empty box The hobo a pill The flare of the match showed his partner's Stark white and deathly As the train clicked on the couplin' joints A song for the ear The hobo to the still white form His pal for many a
(Spoken) For a mighty long time, rambled, Jack With the of men that roam With the backdoor steps for a room And a for a home We the bulls on the Eastern route And the on the Chesapeake We travelled the Leadville gauge In the days of Cripple We drifted down thru 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 bury you there your kin You seemed to I would keep my word 'Cause you said that I was Well, I'm keepin' my to you, pal 'Cause I'm you home tonight I the money to send you there 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 busy treatin' the folks To a worn-out bum
As the train rolled its ribbons of steel Straight thru to the it sped The engineer in his high cab his eye on the rails ahead While ten cars back in the box A hobo sighed For the of old and his pal, so cold Who was takin' his last ride