[Verse 1]
All around the water tank, waiting for a train
A thousand miles away from home, sleeping in the rain
I walked up to a brakeman just to give him a line of talk
He said, "If you've got money, I'll see that you don't walk"
"Well, I haven't got a nickel not a penny can I show"
He said, "Get off, you railroad bum" and he slammed the boxcar door

[Verse 2]
Well, he put me off in Texas, a state I dearly love
The wide open spaces all around me, the moon and stars above
Nobody seems to want me nor to lend me a helping hand
I'm on my way from Frisco heading back to Dixie Land
My pocketbook is empty, my heart is full of pain
I'm a thousand miles away from home, waiting for a train