City of New Orleans is a folk song written by Steve Goodman. Goodman got the idea while traveling on the eponymous train on a visit to his wife's family's house. He performed the song for Arlo Guthrie in the Quiet Knight, a bar in Chicago, and Guthrie agreed to add it to his repertoire. The song proved a hit for Guthrie in 1972. Although Goodman continued to perform it, in the popular imagination, the song is more closely tied to the more famous Guthrie. The song has also been covered by Willie Nelson, John Denver, Johnny Cash, and others. Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... Steve Goodman (July 25, 1948–September 20, 1984) was an American folk music singer and songwriter. ... Amtraks City of New Orleans at the Memphis, Tennessee, station. ... A press photo of Arlo Guthrie. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... Willie Nelson, early 90s. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... John R. Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a vastly influential American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter. ...

The song describes a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ...

In 1975, when ABC was preparing a news show to air, it took the title, "Good Morning America" from the chorus of "City of New Orleans." 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a television and radio network in the United States. ... Veteran journalists Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer, who have hosted the show since the late 1990s. ...

Lyrics

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.

CHORUS:
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 games with the old men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
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 steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.

CHORUS:

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.