In the City Yards of the Santa Fe a freight made up for the east And the engineer with his oil and Was groomin' the great beast While ten cars in the murky dust A door swung wide And a hobo lifted his pal To start on his last long
A swung and the freight pulled out The engine, it gathered The engineer pulled the throttle And clucked to his fiery
Ten cars back in the box The rolled a pill The flare of the showed his partner's face Stark white and still As the train wheels clicked on the couplin' A song for the ear The hobo talked to the white form His pal for a year
(Spoken) For a long time, we've rambled, Jack With the luck of men that the backdoor steps for a dining room And a boxcar for a We dodged the on the Eastern route And the on the Chesapeake We travelled the Leadville gauge In the days of Creek We down thru sunny Cal On the of that old S. P. And of all you had, good and bad A always belonged to me You me promise to you Jack If I lived, and you in To take you back to the old yard And bury you with your kin You seemed to I would keep my word you said that I was right Well, I'm my promise to you, pal 'Cause I'm you home tonight I haven't the to send you there So, I'm you back on the fly It's the way for a 'bo to go to the by and by I knew that that fever had you, And that doctor, he just wouldn't He was too busy treatin' the wealthy To a worn-out bum
As the rolled over its ribbons of steel thru to the East it sped The in his high cab seat Kept his eye on the rails While ten cars in the empty box A lonely sighed For the of old and his pal, so cold Who was his last long ride