I was born in dixie in a boomer's shack,
Just a little shanty by the railroad track
Freight train was comin' I had to cry,
Hummin all the drivers with my lullaby
I've got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy mama got 'em on the bottom of my ramblin' shoes

And when the whistle blows, I gotta go
Baby don't you know
It looks like I'm never gonna lose
The freight train blues.

Well, my daddy was a fireman in a house out here
She was the only daughter of the engineer
Sweetheart of the brakeman, that ain't no joke
It's a shame the way she keeps a good man broke.
I got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy I got 'em in the bottom of my ramblin' shoes

And when the whistle blows, I gotta go
Oh mama don't you know
It looks like I'm never gonna lose
The freight train blues.

Well, the only thing that makes you laugh again
Is a south bound whistle on a south bound train
Ev'ry place I want to go
I never go because you know
Because I got the freight train blues (hee, hee, hoo)
Oh, lawdy mama, got 'em on the bottom of my ramblin' shoes