This song REALLY hits close to home. My now deceased Dad worked for the Illinois Central Railroad for 45 years. My family lives in Louisiana too. Everytime I hear this song it makes me tear up. Dad was a hard working man.
respect frendo 🤙, this and david allan coe's version of the great nashville railroad disaster were powerful songs about he tracks for myself growing up
After hurricane Katrina we were all excited when The City of New Orleans finally rolled back in. It was one more way the city was coming back to normal.
This is one of the many songs and artists that defines my childhood in the 70's. My mom was a HUGE folk music lover and along with Bob Dylan, Arlo was her fave. We even had a cat she named Arlo. He is the son of music legend Woody Guthrie. I sang along while you were watching, this was a very popular song. I just lost mom this year and even though I have also loved this since it was released, it now means even more to me than ever before.
I used to ride *"The City of New Orleans"* from and to Union Station in Chicago down to and from Urbana/Champaign when I attended the University of Illinois -- a short leg of its 500 mile daily journey, as the song describes, yet spanning urban skyscrapers to seemingly endless cornfields. Good memories. There is something special about riding a train with a name, and a patriotic song describing its journey as a window to America.
And of course Steve Goodman wrote this song. His friend and another product of Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, John Prime (Angel from Montgomery) passed away recently.
The name of the train he's singing about is "The City of New Orleans. That's way back when the trains were the major way to cross the country. Each train, had it's own name.
This is absolutely one of my favorite all time songs! I like the way it pulls you in from the very beginning, allowing you to envision every word he sings. Fantastic!
Thank you for reacting to this great old song. You can really feel "the rhythm of the rails." My father and his five brothers all worked on the railroad in their teens. For the rest of his life, the bones of one wrist were bigger than the other, the result of swinging that "nine-pound hammer" for so long. Their father was a section foreman for the Soo Line in the Dakotas. When I was five years old, my parents put me on the train, all alone, to travel halfway across South Dakota for a vacation with a friend at her grandparents farm. I still have the photo of myself, in my little cotton pants suit, cardboard suitcase in hand. That was in the days of steam. I never saw a diesel engine train until about 1946.
This song just brings back memory’s when I was a kid . I still had all of my family members were still a live. I don’t have any grandparents or mother or father left and I have lost five brothers and a sister in law. I always loved this song as a kid. I try so hard not to think about the past and just enjoy the song and the music 🎶. I live with depression anxiety and stress and sadness sometimes music 🎼 can really bring me down. I am sixty four years old. I lost most of my loved ones when I was a lot younger. I still think about my loved one each and every day. Most days I do fine but someday it really brings me down.
Thank you. This song took me back. I was a teen in the 60s. There was so much good music! We had Elvis, the British invasion, Motown, and Folk music. Dave Clark was on TV doing American Bandstand every day. Folk music was a real big deal. Besides Woody and Arlo Guthrie we had Peter, Paul, and Mary, The Mamas and the Papas, and of course, John Denver. There were others but you get the idea. We loved Folk music. It was more than entertaining. It was often times political! It was a big part of our changing culture. We had songs about everything. Who remembers "Eve of Destruction" (anti Vietnam war song)? Since getting older I have found that I love traveling by train and now I love this song even more. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I can't believe I forgot to mention my other favorite Arlo song, Coming Into Los Angeles. I like the studio version more than the Woodstock version but I can listen to either one.
Bringing in a couple of keys (kilograms of pot). I think both City of New Orleans and Coming Into Los Angeles were on the same album. I loved his music and I love this song because it reminds me of the rail travel before Amtrak. I took a round trip on a train like that from Indianapolis to San Antonio and then back when I was on leave while in the Army in 1968. Really enjoyed it. I don't know what type car I was in, probably whatever cost the least, since I was only a PFC, probably making about $200 a month. There were round tables, and a bunch of strangers and I played cards all night long, and I had a little portable record player with me and a few albums, and asked if anyone would like to hear some music, and so we listened to music while we played cards. I think that was probably the nicest travel I had during my four years in the Army. I took Amtrak once, about 17 years later, and it was nice, but not nearly as relaxed or as much fun as that train had been.
I grew up less than 5 miles from what was, at the time, the world's largest singlet owned rail yards. I used to lay on the bed and listen to 60s and 70s rock on the "classic rock" station and hear the lonesome sound of the train whistle off in the distance. You could also hear train cars being coupled and un-coupled all hours of day or night. My grandfather was a detective in the C&O railroad. When he had to put hobos in jail overnight he made sure they went in with a full stomach and when he let them out in the morning, they left with a five dollar bill. He couldn't stand to see anyone go withiut. This song used to remind me of him. Now it reminds me that I married a man who loves railroad memorabilia more than anyone else I know. Thanks for the song, Ty. You do a great job. Keep up the good work and your ministry.
First song I heard from Arlo Guthrie was Alice's Restaurant. Liked it so much I went out and bought the album which included City of New Orleans and many others. Love every song that's on it to this day.
Another great train song, by an artist you’ve done before, is The Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot. Told from the view of the workers who forged the path across Canada.
This is one of my favorite songs. I've loved trains since I was a little boy. My great grandmother used to tell me stories of her brother-in-law, Uncle Harley, who was an actual hobo and how he used to travel the rails hoppin' freight trains.
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. His father is considered to be the most influential folk singer and songwriter of the 20th century. "This Land is Your Land" was penned by Woody Guthrie. He was also a courageous activist and inspired many of the legendary folk and rock singers that are well loved. Arlo has (also) had an impressive career as a musician and songwriter. In concert he's a unique and humorous storyteller.
The original City of New Orleans passenger train was a daytime-run train, from New Orleans to Chicago, the nighttime train from Chicago to New Orleans was a Pullman called the Panama Limited. First train I remember riding on was the City of New Orleans, from New Orleans to McComb, MS where my grandmother lived. I was 4, maybe 5. It was around 1963-64. We came back on The Panama Limited a few days later. Trains were always a part of my life. My grandfather worked in the machine shops at the train yards in McComb, where they serviced trains for Illinois Central RR, and had a roundhouse for engines. My uncle was an engineer, having worked his way up from fireman. My mother worked in the Master Mechanic's office as a steno-clerk till she retired in the mid 80s. My uncle was the engineer on the original train City of New Orleans for her last run when she was retired. Guess that's why I've always loved this song. It's part of my life.
I'm a train fan, so this song is awesome! Have been on this rail line many times. Many times cross country since I was 6 years old and I'm still on track at age 71!
Rode the train called The City of New Orleans to New Orleans. Some party all the way there and back. Goes right thru our little town everyday. See it pretty often.
This is much more than a balled about rail workers, this is about deep american history and iconic symbol just like his father did .......I am canadian and I get it, maybe you should to MRM!
nitropost I live in California & have taken the train many times up & down the coast. It's a great way to travel. Number one on my bucket list ... take the train across Canada!!!
@@bju194422 You bet, did so in the Maritimes, Montreal to Halifax and much younger whit my parents when there were still steam driven ones, Vancouver is on my bucket list on CN rails. Btw, doing American trains should be awsome,really thinking about it.
nitropost, My most memorable train ride in the U.S. was across the San Francisco Bay from Oakland to San Francisco. The train went underwater !!! Yep, underwater train tunnel across the Bay. Freaked me out. All I could think was "what happens if there's an earthquake!" HaHaHa
I grew up listening to his father Woody Guthrie but saw Arlo at Woodstock.singing coming into los angeles . Wish I had seen his father live...Arlo is still performing.
I heard this version in the 70s but one of my sons loved the show ''Shining Time Station'' and this song was sung in the show..LOL George Carlin was ''Mr Conductor'' in the show
A great song by an awesome folk singer 👍 takes me back to my childhood getting ready for school and hearing this song on the radio 😊 precious memories 💚
Man let me tell u it has been forever and a day since I heard this song. Very popular when I was in school. I always loved the story behind this song. Railroaders life running up and down the rail's from one run to the other.
My Grandmother, Louise W. Hodges (1901-1981) co-wrote this song in the late sixties with Steve Goodman. She worked as a telephone switchboard operator for ICRR for nearly 30 years and rode the train back and forth from McComb, MS to New Orleans every week. She was a fairly well known singer/songwriter/actress in New Orleans, and in her spare time, she appeared and sang in numerous plays in New Orleans and other affairs. She had written some of the words to the song already and when she met Steve on the train one afternoon in the late 60's, they talked, and when she found out he was a songwriter, they collaborated together to create the famous song. Much of her family in the early 20th century worked for the railroad and McComb had over 6 thousand people employed at some points in the repair shops for the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR).
I was 9 years old (in the 1950's) when I rode with my grandmother from Chicago to Mobile on the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio RR, probably called the City of Mobile to visit her daughter and my southern cousins for the 1st time. The route was very similar, and the images I recall from that trip come very close to matching the images that the songwriter (Steve Goodman, btw) shared in that song and music. The beat does come close to the feel of a train as it goes along and over the tracks. We were in a parlor car with our own room, and we had our meals in the dining car on white linen, with dinner having several courses. I remember looking out the window and seeing probably junkyards and freight yards and lots of rolling land, first with corn and then with cotton. It was almost a magical trip at that age and this song brings back all the good memories. Oh, and no one in my family that I know of worked for the railroads
I never worked the trains or had anyone in my family who did but I have ridden passenger trains (not just commuter trains) so that may be why this song feels like it touches a part of my soul. I know enough about the past to know how passenger train travel used to be in the United States and what it turned into and that, to me, is what this song is about... the "disappearing railroad" blues.
Been down that rail in a Brandt truck. Great line. Until about 10 years ago it was still jointed rail in a lot of places. The click clack was rhythmic bliss
This is a great song. I come from several generations of railroaders. My great great grandfather was a gandydancer (rail hand) who was killed at age 38 when he stepped aside to avoid being hit by a train but ended up stepping in front of an express going 60. He left behind 5 children, the youngest was 2. His three sons all ended up working for the same railroad, one was a conductor, one was a gandydancer like their dad, and the third, my great grandfather, worked his way up to "Timekeeper of the Junction". This song always makes me sad and nostalgic. It's paying tribute to the end of an era.
Hi Ty: This song ties into my maternal family line. My Great Grandfather Charles worked as a conductor on the Streetcars from 1899-1903, and the moved to working on the Wabash Railroad from 1903-1908. Plus, they lived in the Country, so they took the train when coming to St. Louis. He also became a State Representative in the 1920's and took the train from his home (station was at the bottom.of the hill from his house) into Jefferson City when session started. I never had the opportunity to meet him, so this song and video is a way to connect with that part of his life.
Arlo came along at the time of the folksy era ... Everyone loved Arlo Guthrie and he is most remembered for the song and the movie Alice's Restaurant, which featured others of that era, most notably Leon Russell. Arlo, BTW, is the son of Woody Guthrie, a folk icon in America.
Arlo still does a very heavy performance schedule. Still very much a community activist. It would be great if you did Arlo’s concert version of his Father’s song This land is your land. He talks a bunch about the song while singing it.
Love Love Arlo.his Father before him.as well.so many songs..look up Alices Restaurant.its the song the started Arlo on his way.My family listens to it every year at Thanksgiving..blessings.
It's worth listening to Steve Goodman's original version of this song, as well as checking out some of Steve's other work. His live performance of "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" at the Grand Ole Opry is really something to behold.
A bygone era. The disappearance of passenger trains like The City of New Orleans, The Southern Crescent, The Sunset Limited, etc. Amtrak is about all we have today to remind us - and this song, of course.
This song brings back memories from my younger days. My favorite Arlo Guthrie song is Alice's Restaurant, I have listened to that song on Thanksgiving for the last 46 years. This past Thanksgiving I sent my daughter a RUclips link for Restaurant telling her that was just in case she didn't have a copy of the song. She sent a text back saying she has a copy and was just about to listen to it, I was so happy and proud of her for carrying on the tradition. My other favorite Arlo song is The Motorcycle Song.
I'm not a fan of "folk music" as you put it. . .BUT C'mon man, I like this song because of its message and the emotion it brings forth about something, in this case a train, that was once a glorious part of America but that is fading in importance. I don't know anyone involved with trains, but I love how the lyrics have the train actually singing to you the listener. In other words, if you don't connect to the emotion of something once glorious that is now fading, then you have no soul. You DON'T have to know someone involved with trains or be involved with them yourself to get the sense of what this song is about. I'm into jazz and blues, but I totally love this song, its message, and the emotion I feel listening to it. I'm disappointed that you only really like this song because people involved with trains would like it. You can't feel the message and appreciate it yourself? You like it because there are other people who will like it since they're involved with trains? I love it because it really strikes an emotional chord with me. . .and I have NOTHING to do with trains and rarely listen to this "style" of music!
Exactly my feelings. As a teen in the late 60s, I had never been on a train, didn't live near railroad tracks, and had never even played with toy trains. But I loved this song just the same. Now in my senior years, this song evokes a melancholy feeling of losing part of our history, something I didn't appreciate back then.
You ought to look into songs performed by this song's author, Steve Goodman. He was not only a great songwriter but a respectable acoustic guitar player. There is humor in many of his songs, even in the one he wrote about his impending death: A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request.
Lovely song. I got to see Arlo live once in the late Eighties. Fun performer; great story teller! I second the motion that you try "Alice's Restaurant." It's an anti-war hippy song that came out in the late Sixties, and even though my parents were conservative and my Dad worked for the military industrial complex, I can remember listening to that track on the radio with my parents. He was able to communicate with a very broad audience through music and humor. I still try to listen to Alice's every Thanksgiving.
My mother brought me and my siblings on a train to go south to meet my father at Fort Benning. I had never seen any African Americans before, I was four years old. My mother said I was frantically counting all the faces, and then whispered to her "Mommy we are the only white faces on the train!" My mother looked around, everyone smiled, because I was just a curious little girl. it was 1963. When he sings about the rocking wheels, and gone 500 miles, I can almost feel the warmth of my mother's lap and I feel safe again.
I've ridden through the night on a train, with "my babes fast asleep, rocking to the gentle beat." Doesn't matter which train or even which country. Listen to the music in this song. It IS the rhythm of the rails. "Through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea." Perfect lyric.
His father was also known for many folk songs. One being This Land Is Your Land . Arlo was also known for some light hearted songs, Alice's Restaurant, The Motorcycle Song & Coming Into Los Angeles
. On his serious side were songs like "Deportee" Amazing Grace , Shenandoah, My Peace.
I love the beat... goes perfec'ly with ridin' in the 'Smoking Car' overnight. You can feel the rocking and the clickety-clack. Smoking Car is often called the Club car.
Another great "story telling" type song from the 70s. Arlo Guthrie's Father (Woody) is an American Folk hero of high fame. He was a folk writer and singer in the 1920s and 30s. He wrote songs about the times, and history of a still young America. Ya think Arlo was handed down some of those genes his daddy had? Listen to this song and I'll bet you agree that he's his daddy's son.
Loved the song growing up. I was a teen and it was during that time where Vietnam, Woodstock and protest for freedom, equality, and civil rights was in full swing. Brings back to mind the energy and commitment of those engaged in the movements of that time.
back in the early 1960's I was in the USAF, and I was on the train named the Great Northern, I believe, coming into the Chicago station and I saw the train "City of New Orleans" pulling out as we were coming in.
‘One of the great American songs of the late twentieth century is “City of New Orleans.” The song was originally written and recorded by Steve Goodman but made famous by Arlo Guthrie. “City of New Orleans” was a top 20 hit for Guthrie in 1972, and numerous artists have performed and recorded “City of New Orleans.” While the song recounts the story of the Illinois Central Railroad’s City of New Orleans train, one might read a little more into the story by knowing more about the songwriter. Steve Goodman and “City of New Orleans” Goodman was born on July 25, 1948, and when he was in college, he was diagnosed with leukemia. While the disease was often in remission, Goodman always recognized he was living on borrowed time. Goodman died at the young age of 34 on September 20, 1984. Knowing about his diagnosis, one may see more in the sadness of the song about the end of the life of a train. The Real Train The City of New Orleans itself was a train that the Illinois Central Railroad began operating in April 1947, a little more than a year from Goodman’s birth. The overnight train had the longest daytime regularly scheduled route in the country for a time. The train went between New Orleans, Louisiana and Goodman’s birthplace and hometown, Chicago, Illinois. In May 1971, though, Amtrak took over the City of New Orleans train. The company converted it to a nighttime route, renaming it the Panama Limited. Goodman reportedly came up with the idea for a song about the train while riding on a trip. But it is hard not to see some heartfelt connections between Goodman’s life and the train in his most famous song. “Half way home, we’ll be there by morning, Through the Mississippi darkness. . . . This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues.” Arlo Guthrie’s Version: Changed Lyrics While Arlo Guthrie’s famous verion of the song follows Steve Goodman’s lyrics, there is one exception. Note, Goodman sings about “passing towns that have no name.” In Guthrie’s famous version, he sings about “passing trains that have no names.” One commentator has explained that the difference between the two versions comes from Goodman’s knowledge of train travel. Goodman would know that traveling on the train, one would go through many towns without seeing any signs. But perhaps Guthrie did not understand or he thought city listeners would not understand a train traveling through nameless towns. In this video, a young Guthrie performs “City of New Orleans.” “City of New Orleans” Today Sometimes we all forget that we have a limited time on earth to make a difference, but Goodman’s leukemia diagnosis at a young age made him want to do as much with his life as he could. And his song about a train did make a difference. After the song “City of New Orleans” became popular in the 1970s, Amtrak, hoping to capitalize on the song’s popularity, brought back the “City of New Orleans” train name in 1981. Thanks to Steve Goodman, you may still take a ride on the City of New Orleans today. And thanks to him, you may also sing along to one of the great American songs. And that’s the story behind the song.”
mary hadley You’re most welcome Mary and I truly appreciate you reading that. As much as I’d like to claim original credit, alas, I cannot (thus the quotation marks). However, I’ve always felt that is one of the truly great songs about America and wanted to share. My great grandfather was a conductor on the Illinois Central (but not on the City of New Orleans). I think the death of passenger rail was tragic for Americans. And I think that’s partly what this song is about (“This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues”).
mary hadley It means I’m really terrible at naming my RUclips channel. 😂 Punch was my nickname in school, from The Hawaiian Punch logo because I’m short. Anyhoo, I do have one video on my channel of the same name. It stars my sweet dog John Wayne. I’d love your opinion. No pressure to make it viral or anything (after several years I think I have a single subscriber). I just wanted to show my friends. Thanks so much for enjoying this song as much as I do!
The song paints a very vivid picture of this epic train route. Back in the late 60's Amtrack was going to cancel the run from Chicago to New Orleans due to lack of ridership and the fact that Amtrack was broke! Steve Goodman wrote the song and recorded it as well, but when Arlo recorded it, it seemed to strike a nerve in Americans. It is not a specific train but rather a train route from Chicago to "The City of New Orleans" and you can book passage on it even now thanks in large part to this song.
@@annevogle 27 8 by 10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows, and a paragraph on the back of each one, explaining what each one was., to be used against us. Yes, I think I've heard of "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" is a fantastic song. But don't forget about the "Significance of the Pickle" (The Motorcycle Song)!
@@fordp69 We had a bench outside our shop that we sat on during breaks. I put a sign behind it that said "Group W".... Only 4 people knew what it meant!😂
This song REALLY hits close to home. My now deceased Dad worked for the Illinois Central Railroad for 45 years. My family lives in Louisiana too. Everytime I hear this song it makes me tear up. Dad was a hard working man.
I am An Amtrak Conductor. My father worked 33 years for Frisco in St. Louis and BN in St. Paul Minnesota. I work out of St. Cloud Minnesota
respect frendo 🤙, this and david allan coe's version of the great nashville railroad disaster were powerful songs about he tracks for myself growing up
Willie Nelson version real good, too.
After hurricane Katrina we were all excited when The City of New Orleans finally rolled back in. It was one more way the city was coming back to normal.
This is one of the many songs and artists that defines my childhood in the 70's. My mom was a HUGE folk music lover and along with Bob Dylan, Arlo was her fave. We even had a cat she named Arlo. He is the son of music legend Woody Guthrie. I sang along while you were watching, this was a very popular song. I just lost mom this year and even though I have also loved this since it was released, it now means even more to me than ever before.
I am sorry that you lost your mother. That is always a hard blow to the heart.
I loved this song from the moment it came out. "magic carpets made of steel"...what poetry!
I used to ride *"The City of New Orleans"* from and to Union Station in Chicago down to and from Urbana/Champaign when I attended the University of Illinois -- a short leg of its 500 mile daily journey, as the song describes, yet spanning urban skyscrapers to seemingly endless cornfields.
Good memories. There is something special about riding a train with a name, and a patriotic song describing its journey as a window to America.
God bless America. With all her faults, she's still the best country on Earth.
I don’t want a pickle
I just wanna ride my motor sickle
I don’t wanna die
I just want to ride on my motorcy...cle
My best friend and I would sing that all the time when we were kids in the early 70's!
My all time favorite!!!❤❤❤
Arlo did this on the Johnny Cash show
Pretty sure this is a Roger Miller song.
Everyone forgettin' Alice's Restaurant?
I heard that you can have anything you want there...
I saw Alice's restaurant at the base theater at Camp Pendelton Ca. the first year they showed the movie.
@@kelanth462 cepting Alice. Lol
@@GammaCharlotte Damn right!
Sitting on the Group W Bench. : /
His dad Woodie Guthrie is the one who wrote and sang This Land Is Your Land, This Land is My Land....
And of course Steve Goodman wrote this song. His friend and another product of Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, John Prime (Angel from Montgomery) passed away recently.
Steve Goodman had to bribe Arlo with a glass of beer, to get him to listen to the song. Great song to listen to and play!
This is the second time I've heard or read Steve Goodman's name today.
@@barbaramatthews4735 His friend John Prine owns the Steve Goodman song book and all his recording(Red Pajamas).
Yeah, all honor to Chicago Shorty.
Glad he did!
And Steve had to sue Arlo and his record company because they had released the song with Arlo as the writer instead of Steve.
This song brings me back to being a little kid in the 1970's.
The name of the train he's singing about is "The City of New Orleans. That's way back when the trains were the major way to cross the country. Each train, had it's own name.
827dusty there’s still a passenger Amtrak train called the City of New Orleans
The trains are still running, and still named - you just don't hear about 'em much anymore.
I've ridden the city of New Orleans twice. So much more fun than a plane
This is absolutely one of my favorite all time songs! I like the way it pulls you in from the very beginning, allowing you to envision every word he sings. Fantastic!
Glad you like it!
I've loved trains since I was a kid in the 60s. This is one of my favorite songs as it paints an awesome picture of railroad life.
Alice’s Restaurant will put a smile on you face. I promise.
Love Alice’s Restaurant
Love trains
Awe Lord,..such a precious song. I havent heard this in so very long. Thanks for reacting to it.
Thank you for reacting to this great old song. You can really feel "the rhythm of the rails." My father and his five brothers all worked on the railroad in their teens. For the rest of his life, the bones of one wrist were bigger than the other, the result of swinging that "nine-pound hammer" for so long. Their father was a section foreman for the Soo Line in the Dakotas. When I was five years old, my parents put me on the train, all alone, to travel halfway across South Dakota for a vacation with a friend at her grandparents farm. I still have the photo of myself, in my little cotton pants suit, cardboard suitcase in hand. That was in the days of steam. I never saw a diesel engine train until about 1946.
Awesome story, Karolyn!
This song just brings back memory’s when I was a kid . I still had all of my family members were still a live. I don’t have any grandparents or mother or father left and I have lost five brothers and a sister in law. I always loved this song as a kid. I try so hard not to think about the past and just enjoy the song and the music 🎶. I live with depression anxiety and stress and sadness sometimes music 🎼 can really bring me down. I am sixty four years old. I lost most of my loved ones when I was a lot younger. I still think about my loved one each and every day. Most days I do fine but someday it really brings me down.
Thank you. This song took me back. I was a teen in the 60s. There was so much good music! We had Elvis, the British invasion, Motown, and Folk music. Dave Clark was on TV doing American Bandstand every day. Folk music was a real big deal. Besides Woody and Arlo Guthrie we had Peter, Paul, and Mary, The Mamas and the Papas, and of course, John Denver. There were others but you get the idea. We loved Folk music. It was more than entertaining. It was often times political! It was a big part of our changing culture. We had songs about everything. Who remembers "Eve of Destruction" (anti Vietnam war song)?
Since getting older I have found that I love traveling by train and now I love this song even more. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Barry McGuire! I loved him. He was very big in Christian music from a little after the Vietnam War.
I can't believe I forgot to mention my other favorite Arlo song, Coming Into Los Angeles. I like the studio version more than the Woodstock version but I can listen to either one.
Bringing in a couple of keys (kilograms of pot). I think both City of New Orleans and Coming Into Los Angeles were on the same album. I loved his music and I love this song because it reminds me of the rail travel before Amtrak. I took a round trip on a train like that from Indianapolis to San Antonio and then back when I was on leave while in the Army in 1968. Really enjoyed it. I don't know what type car I was in, probably whatever cost the least, since I was only a PFC, probably making about $200 a month. There were round tables, and a bunch of strangers and I played cards all night long, and I had a little portable record player with me and a few albums, and asked if anyone would like to hear some music, and so we listened to music while we played cards. I think that was probably the nicest travel I had during my four years in the Army. I took Amtrak once, about 17 years later, and it was nice, but not nearly as relaxed or as much fun as that train had been.
I grew up less than 5 miles from what was, at the time, the world's largest singlet owned rail yards. I used to lay on the bed and listen to 60s and 70s rock on the "classic rock" station and hear the lonesome sound of the train whistle off in the distance. You could also hear train cars being coupled and un-coupled all hours of day or night. My grandfather was a detective in the C&O railroad. When he had to put hobos in jail overnight he made sure they went in with a full stomach and when he let them out in the morning, they left with a five dollar bill. He couldn't stand to see anyone go withiut. This song used to remind me of him. Now it reminds me that I married a man who loves railroad memorabilia more than anyone else I know. Thanks for the song, Ty. You do a great job. Keep up the good work and your ministry.
First song I heard from Arlo Guthrie was Alice's Restaurant. Liked it so much I went out and bought the album which included City of New Orleans and many others. Love every song that's on it to this day.
Another great train song, by an artist you’ve done before, is The Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot. Told from the view of the workers who forged the path across Canada.
This is one of my favorite songs. I've loved trains since I was a little boy. My great grandmother used to tell me stories of her brother-in-law, Uncle Harley, who was an actual hobo and how he used to travel the rails hoppin' freight trains.
You don't have to work on the railroad to appreciate this beautiful song.
This song is just so magical. I dont know why but it sooths my soul whenever I hear it. :}
Another great, remember when it came out. ❤💞 I love to walk rails and sing this song hiking. Makes me cry as well
I've heard this song many times, but it's the first time I've actually listened to it. Good song.
I once listened to five or six versions consecutively.
Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie. His father is considered to be the most influential folk singer and songwriter of the 20th century. "This Land is Your Land" was penned by Woody Guthrie. He was also a courageous activist and inspired many of the legendary folk and rock singers that are well loved.
Arlo has (also) had an impressive career as a musician and songwriter. In concert he's a unique and humorous storyteller.
Honey, Bob Dylan is the most influential singer/songwriter of the 20th century. Woody is close, but not THAT close.
LOL. The "City of New Orleans" is a train. I just love the faces you make. :D
Arlo is diffinitely an American treasure 🎶 another treasure would be the songwriter Steve Goodman 😁
The original City of New Orleans passenger train was a daytime-run train, from New Orleans to Chicago, the nighttime train from Chicago to New Orleans was a Pullman called the Panama Limited. First train I remember riding on was the City of New Orleans, from New Orleans to McComb, MS where my grandmother lived. I was 4, maybe 5. It was around 1963-64. We came back on The Panama Limited a few days later. Trains were always a part of my life. My grandfather worked in the machine shops at the train yards in McComb, where they serviced trains for Illinois Central RR, and had a roundhouse for engines. My uncle was an engineer, having worked his way up from fireman. My mother worked in the Master Mechanic's office as a steno-clerk till she retired in the mid 80s. My uncle was the engineer on the original train City of New Orleans for her last run when she was retired. Guess that's why I've always loved this song. It's part of my life.
I'm a train fan, so this song is awesome! Have been on this rail line many times. Many times cross country since I was 6 years old and I'm still on track at age 71!
Rode the train called The City of New Orleans to New Orleans. Some party all the way there and back. Goes right thru our little town everyday. See it pretty often.
Train songs were a staple of country music from the start.. Started with Jimmie Rogers.... Willie Nelson had a hit on this song
This is much more than a balled about rail workers, this is about deep american history and iconic symbol just like his father did .......I am canadian and I get it, maybe you should to MRM!
nitropost I live in California & have taken the train many times up & down the coast. It's a great way to travel. Number one on my bucket list ... take the train across Canada!!!
@@bju194422 You bet, did so in the Maritimes, Montreal to Halifax and much younger whit my parents when there were still steam driven ones, Vancouver is on my bucket list on CN rails. Btw, doing American trains should be awsome,really thinking about it.
nitropost, My most memorable train ride in the U.S. was across the San Francisco Bay from Oakland to San Francisco. The train went underwater !!! Yep, underwater train tunnel across the Bay. Freaked me out. All I could think was "what happens if there's an earthquake!" HaHaHa
Beautiful song, it always gets to me. Love Willie Nelson’s cover too. Thanks!
I grew up listening to his father Woody Guthrie but saw Arlo at Woodstock.singing coming into los angeles . Wish I had seen his father live...Arlo is still performing.
The most memorabal song makes me cry its so beautiful song from the past
One of my favorite songs, thanx for reviewing it. I sing it all the time.
Just heard Argo, having always listened to Johnny and Willie. WOW - what a clear voice! Now to your opinion…
I heard this version in the 70s but one of my sons loved the show ''Shining Time Station'' and this song was sung in the show..LOL George Carlin was ''Mr Conductor'' in the show
I’ve seen Arlo twice, once with Phobe Snow and once with John Prine. Both great concerts. Love folk music, I’m definitely a 70’s girl .
A great song by an awesome folk singer 👍 takes me back to my childhood getting ready for school and hearing this song on the radio 😊 precious memories 💚
Great old tune! Brings back childhood memories 😊
Man let me tell u it has been forever and a day since I heard this song. Very popular when I was in school. I always loved the story behind this song. Railroaders life running up and down the rail's from one run to the other.
loved this song growing up ...
A traditional Thanksgiving favorite & an excellent song - Alice's Restaurant. We never have official Thanksgiving without listening to it!
My Grandmother, Louise W. Hodges (1901-1981) co-wrote this song in the late sixties with Steve Goodman. She worked as a telephone switchboard operator for ICRR for nearly 30 years and rode the train back and forth from McComb, MS to New Orleans every week. She was a fairly well known singer/songwriter/actress in New Orleans, and in her spare time, she appeared and sang in numerous plays in New Orleans and other affairs. She had written some of the words to the song already and when she met Steve on the train one afternoon in the late 60's, they talked, and when she found out he was a songwriter, they collaborated together to create the famous song. Much of her family in the early 20th century worked for the railroad and McComb had over 6 thousand people employed at some points in the repair shops for the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR).
I was 9 years old (in the 1950's) when I rode with my grandmother from Chicago to Mobile on the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio RR, probably called the City of Mobile to visit her daughter and my southern cousins for the 1st time. The route was very similar, and the images I recall from that trip come very close to matching the images that the songwriter (Steve Goodman, btw) shared in that song and music. The beat does come close to the feel of a train as it goes along and over the tracks. We were in a parlor car with our own room, and we had our meals in the dining car on white linen, with dinner having several courses. I remember looking out the window and seeing probably junkyards and freight yards and lots of rolling land, first with corn and then with cotton. It was almost a magical trip at that age and this song brings back all the good memories. Oh, and no one in my family that I know of worked for the railroads
Good old folk music from back in the day. Not something you hear much anymore. Like your input and honesty so thank you very much God bless.
MRM - thanks for that. I think you'd really like Arlo's most famous (and funny) song: 'Alice's Restaurant'.
And they all moved away on the Group W bench
@@Caperhere , "until I said and creating a nuisance."
That would be AMAZING for someone to react to that. It's awfully long though...
Beautiful song! Thank you for your reaction!
I never worked the trains or had anyone in my family who did but I have ridden passenger trains (not just commuter trains) so that may be why this song feels like it touches a part of my soul. I know enough about the past to know how passenger train travel used to be in the United States and what it turned into and that, to me, is what this song is about... the "disappearing railroad" blues.
Thats awesome
gr8 Karaoke tune for me..... along with; NY state of mind, solitary man; and, feelin all right.
Been down that rail in a Brandt truck. Great line. Until about 10 years ago it was still jointed rail in a lot of places. The click clack was rhythmic bliss
This is a great song. I come from several generations of railroaders. My great great grandfather was a gandydancer (rail hand) who was killed at age 38 when he stepped aside to avoid being hit by a train but ended up stepping in front of an express going 60. He left behind 5 children, the youngest was 2. His three sons all ended up working for the same railroad, one was a conductor, one was a gandydancer like their dad, and the third, my great grandfather, worked his way up to "Timekeeper of the Junction". This song always makes me sad and nostalgic. It's paying tribute to the end of an era.
Great Folk Song about a slice of American cultural history. Nice tune too.
Hi Ty: This song ties into my maternal family line. My Great Grandfather Charles worked as a conductor on the Streetcars from 1899-1903, and the moved to working on the Wabash Railroad from 1903-1908.
Plus, they lived in the Country, so they took the train when coming to St. Louis.
He also became a State Representative in the 1920's and took the train from his home (station was at the bottom.of the hill from his house) into Jefferson City when session started.
I never had the opportunity to meet him, so this song and video is a way to connect with that part of his life.
Thank you for Arlo! Would love to have you listen to David Bromberg's version of Mr. Bojangles. It will bring you to tears!
When I listen to this song I realize my love for this county and all it's people and trains as well.
Arlo came along at the time of the folksy era ... Everyone loved Arlo Guthrie and he is most remembered for the song and the movie Alice's Restaurant, which featured others of that era, most notably Leon Russell. Arlo, BTW, is the son of Woody Guthrie, a folk icon in America.
I met Arlo in Chico at The Brickworks in, I think, '95. I was already a huge fan. He's awesome.
This RUclips is so soulful !!!! Wow, he feels it. Get it, Renaissance
This song is pure Americana, for everybody, all over the USA, north, south, east, & west.
Thankyou for this reaction Ty! I believe this is also one that I had requested as well!
Arlo still does a very heavy performance schedule. Still very much a community activist.
It would be great if you did Arlo’s concert version of his Father’s song This land is your land. He talks a bunch about the song while singing it.
Love Love Arlo.his Father before him.as well.so many songs..look up Alices Restaurant.its the song the started Arlo on his way.My family listens to it every year at Thanksgiving..blessings.
I rode that train from Chicago to Dyersburg, TN, for Christmas, one time, back in the 60's.
I have no relationship to trains but I love this song because it's a fine piece of Americana and history. Thank you for playing.
It's worth listening to Steve Goodman's original version of this song, as well as checking out some of Steve's other work. His live performance of "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" at the Grand Ole Opry is really something to behold.
A bygone era. The disappearance of passenger trains like The City of New Orleans, The Southern Crescent, The Sunset Limited, etc. Amtrak is about all we have today to remind us - and this song, of course.
I grew up with this. got to see him perform it live
This song brings back memories from my younger days. My favorite Arlo Guthrie song is Alice's Restaurant, I have listened to that song on Thanksgiving for the last 46 years. This past Thanksgiving I sent my daughter a RUclips link for Restaurant telling her that was just in case she didn't have a copy of the song. She sent a text back saying she has a copy and was just about to listen to it, I was so happy and proud of her for carrying on the tradition. My other favorite Arlo song is The Motorcycle Song.
Love this and his song “ Hobo’s Lullaby “💯
Another good Arlo Guthrie song you need to try is Alice's Restaurant
I urge anyone to take a train trip across country. You will see parts or the country you had no idea existed.
As a folk song, it's one of the very best and Arlo Guthie's version is iconic
This is a great classic song....thanks for bringing back memories.
Good song. Loved riding trains in Europe.
Good tune. You've been through the tunnel and came through the other side stronger than ever. Good to see you're still standing.
Boxcar Willie (Wabash cannonball) live version. To see him make the train whistle with his mouth
I'm not a fan of "folk music" as you put it. . .BUT C'mon man, I like this song because of its message and the emotion it brings forth about something, in this case a train, that was once a glorious part of America but that is fading in importance. I don't know anyone involved with trains, but I love how the lyrics have the train actually singing to you the listener. In other words, if you don't connect to the emotion of something once glorious that is now fading, then you have no soul. You DON'T have to know someone involved with trains or be involved with them yourself to get the sense of what this song is about. I'm into jazz and blues, but I totally love this song, its message, and the emotion I feel listening to it. I'm disappointed that you only really like this song because people involved with trains would like it. You can't feel the message and appreciate it yourself? You like it because there are other people who will like it since they're involved with trains? I love it because it really strikes an emotional chord with me. . .and I have NOTHING to do with trains and rarely listen to this "style" of music!
Exactly my feelings. As a teen in the late 60s, I had never been on a train, didn't live near railroad tracks, and had never even played with toy trains. But I loved this song just the same. Now in my senior years, this song evokes a melancholy feeling of losing part of our history, something I didn't appreciate back then.
love that song i was a teenager when it came out it was a folkish song his dad was a singer too Woody Guthrie
I saw Arlo, with John Prine, I think in the late 80s. One of the best concerts I've ever been to.
You ought to look into songs performed by this song's author, Steve Goodman. He was not only a great songwriter but a respectable acoustic guitar player. There is humor in many of his songs, even in the one he wrote about his impending death: A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request.
If you are old enough to remember riding the diesels then you can feel the song sway just like you did on that train.
Flying in to Los Angeles bringing in a couple of keys, don't touch my bags if you please Me. Custom man
Lovely song. I got to see Arlo live once in the late Eighties. Fun performer; great story teller! I second the motion that you try "Alice's Restaurant." It's an anti-war hippy song that came out in the late Sixties, and even though my parents were conservative and my Dad worked for the military industrial complex, I can remember listening to that track on the radio with my parents. He was able to communicate with a very broad audience through music and humor. I still try to listen to Alice's every Thanksgiving.
My mother brought me and my siblings on a train to go south to meet my father at Fort Benning.
I had never seen any African Americans before, I was four years old.
My mother said I was frantically counting all the faces, and then whispered to her
"Mommy we are the only white faces on the train!"
My mother looked around, everyone smiled, because I was just a curious little girl. it was 1963.
When he sings about the rocking wheels, and gone 500 miles, I can almost feel the warmth
of my mother's lap and I feel safe again.
I've ridden through the night on a train, with "my babes fast asleep, rocking to the gentle beat." Doesn't matter which train or even which country. Listen to the music in this song.
It IS the rhythm of the rails.
"Through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea." Perfect lyric.
I love this song ❤🇺🇸
I haven't heard that in 30 - 35 years. Thanks, man.
His father was also known for many folk songs. One being This Land Is Your Land
. Arlo was also known for some light hearted songs, Alice's Restaurant, The Motorcycle Song & Coming Into Los Angeles
. On his serious side were songs like "Deportee" Amazing Grace
, Shenandoah, My Peace.
Especially "Deportee" - still topical today.
I love the beat... goes perfec'ly with ridin' in the 'Smoking Car' overnight. You can feel the rocking and the clickety-clack. Smoking Car is often called the Club car.
I rode trains... loved it. Food was great; linen tablecloths, glass ashtrays, fresh flowers on the table... elegance for breakfast.
Another great "story telling" type song from the 70s. Arlo Guthrie's Father (Woody) is an American Folk hero of high fame. He was a folk writer and singer in the 1920s and 30s. He wrote songs about the times, and history of a still young America. Ya think Arlo was handed down some of those genes his daddy had? Listen to this song and I'll bet you agree that he's his daddy's son.
Loved the song growing up. I was a teen and it was during that time where Vietnam, Woodstock and protest for freedom, equality, and civil rights was in full swing. Brings back to mind the energy and commitment of those engaged in the movements of that time.
back in the early 1960's I was in the USAF, and I was on the train named the Great Northern, I believe, coming into the Chicago station and I saw the train "City of New Orleans" pulling out as we were coming in.
‘One of the great American songs of the late twentieth century is “City of New Orleans.” The song was originally written and recorded by Steve Goodman but made famous by Arlo Guthrie.
“City of New Orleans” was a top 20 hit for Guthrie in 1972, and numerous artists have performed and recorded “City of New Orleans.” While the song recounts the story of the Illinois Central Railroad’s City of New Orleans train, one might read a little more into the story by knowing more about the songwriter.
Steve Goodman and “City of New Orleans”
Goodman was born on July 25, 1948, and when he was in college, he was diagnosed with leukemia. While the disease was often in remission, Goodman always recognized he was living on borrowed time.
Goodman died at the young age of 34 on September 20, 1984. Knowing about his diagnosis, one may see more in the sadness of the song about the end of the life of a train.
The Real Train
The City of New Orleans itself was a train that the Illinois Central Railroad began operating in April 1947, a little more than a year from Goodman’s birth. The overnight train had the longest daytime regularly scheduled route in the country for a time. The train went between New Orleans, Louisiana and Goodman’s birthplace and hometown, Chicago, Illinois.
In May 1971, though, Amtrak took over the City of New Orleans train. The company converted it to a nighttime route, renaming it the Panama Limited.
Goodman reportedly came up with the idea for a song about the train while riding on a trip. But it is hard not to see some heartfelt connections between Goodman’s life and the train in his most famous song.
“Half way home, we’ll be there by morning,
Through the Mississippi darkness. . . .
This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues.”
Arlo Guthrie’s Version: Changed Lyrics
While Arlo Guthrie’s famous verion of the song follows Steve Goodman’s lyrics, there is one exception. Note, Goodman sings about “passing towns that have no name.” In Guthrie’s famous version, he sings about “passing trains that have no names.”
One commentator has explained that the difference between the two versions comes from Goodman’s knowledge of train travel. Goodman would know that traveling on the train, one would go through many towns without seeing any signs. But perhaps Guthrie did not understand or he thought city listeners would not understand a train traveling through nameless towns.
In this video, a young Guthrie performs “City of New Orleans.”
“City of New Orleans” Today
Sometimes we all forget that we have a limited time on earth to make a difference, but Goodman’s leukemia diagnosis at a young age made him want to do as much with his life as he could. And his song about a train did make a difference.
After the song “City of New Orleans” became popular in the 1970s, Amtrak, hoping to capitalize on the song’s popularity, brought back the “City of New Orleans” train name in 1981. Thanks to Steve Goodman, you may still take a ride on the City of New Orleans today. And thanks to him, you may also sing along to one of the great American songs.
And that’s the story behind the song.”
PunchVideo well Dang!!that was just amazing!! And I thank you!
mary hadley
You’re most welcome Mary and I truly appreciate you reading that. As much as I’d like to claim original credit, alas, I cannot (thus the quotation marks). However, I’ve always felt that is one of the truly great songs about America and wanted to share. My great grandfather was a conductor on the Illinois Central (but not on the City of New Orleans). I think the death of passenger rail was tragic for Americans. And I think that’s partly what this song is about (“This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues”).
@@punchvideo7627 Just really happy to learn all that!!! PunchVideo...what does PunchVideo mean?
mary hadley
It means I’m really terrible at naming my RUclips channel. 😂
Punch was my nickname in school, from The Hawaiian Punch logo because I’m short. Anyhoo, I do have one video on my channel of the same name. It stars my sweet dog John Wayne. I’d love your opinion. No pressure to make it viral or anything (after several years I think I have a single subscriber). I just wanted to show my friends.
Thanks so much for enjoying this song as much as I do!
PunchVideo so I just youtube search ur name
The song paints a very vivid picture of this epic train route. Back in the late 60's Amtrack was going to cancel the run from Chicago to New Orleans due to lack of ridership and the fact that Amtrack was broke! Steve Goodman wrote the song and recorded it as well, but when Arlo recorded it, it seemed to strike a nerve in Americans. It is not a specific train but rather a train route from Chicago to "The City of New Orleans" and you can book passage on it even now thanks in large part to this song.
You can get anything you want at "ALICE'S RESTAURANT"...(including Alice!)
Just walk right in.its around the back.just a half mile from the railroad tracks.
@@annevogle 27 8 by 10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows, and a paragraph on the back of each one, explaining what each one was., to be used against us.
Yes, I think I've heard of "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" is a fantastic song. But don't forget about the "Significance of the Pickle" (The Motorcycle Song)!
@@fordp69 We had a bench outside our shop that we sat on during breaks. I put a sign behind it that said "Group W".... Only 4 people knew what it meant!😂
@@fordp69 we had several, as well as the others. And a good laugh from the owner of the company who got it immediately!
Except Alice isn't it ✌💖