Willie Nelson – City Of New Orleans

About the Song

“City of New Orleans” is a classic track interpreted by Willie Nelson, released as a single in 1984 from his album City of New Orleans, under Columbia Records. Originally penned by Steve Goodman in 1970, the song first appeared on Goodman’s own recording but gained wider attention when Arlo Guthrie’s 1972 version climbed to No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Nelson’s country-infused rendition brought new life to the song, topping the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on July 7, 1984, and remaining on the chart for 18 weeks. The 4-minute-50-second ballad paints a vivid picture of a train ride across America, blending nostalgia with melancholy, highlighted in lines like: “Good morning, America, how are you? / Say, don’t you know me? I’m your native son.”

The recording took place in 1984 at Pedernales Recording Studio in Austin, Texas. Co-produced by Nelson and Chips Moman, the session featured members of Nelson’s long-time backing group, The Family, including Mickey Raphael on harmonica, Jody Payne on guitar, and Bobbie Nelson on piano. Moman also arranged a string section for the track. The song’s rhythm mirrors the steady motion of a train, with Raphael’s harmonica evoking the sound of a whistle, reinforcing the journey motif. The album itself reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and earned platinum status from the RIAA by 1986, having sold over one million copies. The song served as the album’s lead single, released in May 1984.

Nelson chose to cover the song after being moved by Guthrie’s earlier version, viewing it as a heartfelt tribute to the spirit of American folk music. He made slight lyrical changes to align the piece more closely with his personal style and themes. At the time, Nelson was working closely with Moman on several recordings. Speaking to Country Music magazine in 1984, Nelson shared: “It’s a song about a train, but it’s really about people and places—it felt like my story too.” The track gained additional visibility when featured in Willie Nelson: The Big Country, a 1984 television special that highlighted Nelson’s live performance energy.

Numerous artists have interpreted the song over the years. Arlo Guthrie’s 1972 version remains one of the most iconic, followed by Johnny Cash’s 1973 cover on Any Old Wind That Blows. Nelson’s version inspired later interpretations as well, including a 1990 recording by Sammi Smith for The Best of Sammi Smith, and a 2018 release by The Highwaymen—Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson—featured on a posthumous collection, according to SecondHandSongs. A standout live version from Austin City Limits in 1984 was later released on the 2006 album Live at Austin City Limits. The song also made a cinematic appearance in the 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes during a train sequence.

Nelson regularly included “City of New Orleans” in his live performances, notably singing it with Waylon Jennings during the 1984 Fourth of July Picnic in Austin. He later recorded a duet version with Johnny Cash for The Highwaymen: Live, released in 1999. The track was also part of Nelson’s set at Farm Aid 1989, the charity concert supporting American farmers. In 2016, it was featured in the PBS documentary Willie Nelson: American Icon, which examined Nelson’s influence on country music. Today, the song continues to be a fan favorite in Nelson’s concerts, often paired with other songs celebrating travel and Americana themes.

Video

Lyric

Riding on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail

All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
And rolls along past houses, farms and fields
Passing trains that have no names
And freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles

Good morning, America, how are you?
Say, don’t you know me? I’m your native son
I’m the train they call the City of New Orleans
I’ll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

Dealin’ cards with the old men in the club car
Penny a point, ain’t no one keepin’ score
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin’ ‘neath the floor

And the sons of Pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their fathers’ magic carpets made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep
Rockin’ to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rail is all they feel

Good morning, America, how are you?
Say, don’t you know me? I’m your native son
I’m the train they call the City of New Orleans
I’ll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee
Halfway home, we’ll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea

But all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rail still ain’t heard the news
The conductor sings his songs again
The passengers will please refrain
This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues

Good night, America, how are you?
Say, don’t you know me? I’m your native son
I’m the train they call the City of New Orleans
I’ll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done