[Chorus]
Daddy what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? Well, how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me "Daddy what's a train?"

[Verse 1]
When I was just a boy and living by the track
Us kids would gather up the coal in big old gunnysacks
Then we heard the warning sound as the train pulled into view
The engineer would smile and wave as she went rolling through

She blew so loud and clear, we had to cover up our ears
And we counted cars just as high as we could go
I can almost hear the steam, those big old drivers scream
Sounds my little kids will never know

[Chorus]
Daddy what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? Well, how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me "Daddy what's a train?"

[Verse 2]
I guess the times have changed, kids are different now
Cause some don't even seem to know that milk comes from a cow
My little boy can tell the names of all the baseball stars
I remember how I memorized the names on railroad cars
The Wabash and the TP, Lackawanna, the IC
The Nickel Plate and the good old Santa Fe
Just names out of the past, I guess they're fading fast
Every time I hear my little boy say

[Chorus]
Daddy what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? Well, how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me "Daddy what's a train?"

[Verse 3]
We climbed into the car, drove down into town
Right up to the depot house, but no one was around
We searched the yard together for something I could show
But I knew there hadn't been a train for a dozen years or so

All the things I did when I was just a kid
How far away those memories appear
I guess it's plain to see they still mean a lot to me
Because my ambition was to be an engineer

[Chorus]
Daddy what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
Is it bigger than our house? Well, how can I explain
When my little boy and girl ask me "Daddy what's a train?"