Well I got my mail late last night,
A letter from a girl who found the time to write
To her lonesome boy somewhere's in the night.
She sent me a railroad ticket, too,
To take me to her lovin' arms.
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home
To the one I love.
Well I bin1 out here many long days.
I haven't found a place that I could call my own.
Not a two-bit2 bed to lay my body on.
I bin stood up, I bin shook down,
I bin dragged into the sand.
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home
To the one I love.
Ooo Ooo Oooo . . .
Well I bin up tight most every night,
Walkin' along the streets o' this old town.
Not a friend around to tell my troubles to.
My good old car she done broke down
'Cause I drove it into the ground.
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home
To the one I love.
Well I look over yonder across the plain,
The big drive wheels a-poundin' along the ground.
Gonna git3 on board and I'll be homeward bound.
Now I ain't had a home-cooked meal
And Lord I need one now.
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home
To the one I love.
Ooo Ooo Oooo . . .
Now here I am with my hat in my hand,
Standin' on the broad highway. Will you give a ride
To a lonesome boy who missed the train last night?
I went in town for one last round
And I gambled my ticket away.
And the big steel rail won't carry me home
To the one I love.
Ooo Ooo Oooo . . .
1. "Been" in folk-song speak.2. Very antiquated way of saying 25¢, or that it was simply cheap. See this.3. More folk-song speak, this time for "get."