Headed for Tolono on the Wabash Cannonball
Norfolk and Western all the way
St. Louis down the line
Detroit somewhere behind
I heard the old conductor say;
CHO: No round trip ticket, you're on the final run
This Cannonball is never coming back;
Tomorrow she'll just be
Another memory
And an echo down a rusty railroad track.
I got off at Tolono, just below Champaign,
A flag stop on the edge of yesterday;
The whistle blew a song,
I whispered, "so long."
Waved my hand and slowly walked away.
I think about tomorrow and wonder why it is
We give up all the things we love the most.
Goodbye you old hog
I'll have to ride the dog
Until they build a subway coast to coast.