All around the water tank
Waitin' for a train
A thousand miles away from home
Sleeping in the rain.

I walked up to a brakeman
To give him a line of talk
He says if you've got money
I'll see that you don't walk.

I haven't got a nickle
Not a penny can I show
He said get off you railroad bum
And slammed the boxcar door.

Oh la-ee, oh la-ee, oh la-ee
Oh la-ee, oh la-ee, oh.

He put me off in Texas
A place I surely love
Wide open spaces 'round me
The moon and stars above.

Nobody seems to want me
Or lend me a helping hand
I'm on my way from 'Frisco
Goin' back to Dixieland.

My pocketbook is empty
And my heart is filled with pain
I'm a thousand miles away from you
Just waiting for a train.

Oh la-ee, oh la-ee, oh la-ee
Oh la-ee, oh la-ee, oh