[Verse 1]
I took this one room shady just off the right of way
So I'd be near the freight trains that whsitled by each day
But more and more I've noticed that fewer trains go by
It seems the railroad days are gone, and I often wonder why

[Chorus]
Nobody rides the train
The days of railroad bums are nearly gone
There are no more jungle camps outside sleepy towns
No more nights beneath the stars upon the sweet, warm ground
I hate to see them pass
Though the memories that I have will never change
But it makes me feel so bad, it makes my old heart sad
Nobody rides the train

[Verse 2]
There was a time that I recall, when the hobo bum was king
At times there'd be a hundred 'bos upon a single train
A million restless men searching for the promised land
But now they're just a memory in the heart of this old man
I recall the dark-eyed girl outside of Baltimore
And she had a hobo's mark and chop on her door
She fed me in her kitchen and she warmed me by her fire
I kissed her on her pale white cheek and I caught that midnight flyer
I've spent many summer nights down in the yuppie yards
Huddled in a box car, hiding from the railroad guards
The Cannonball up to Texas, oh, the special up to Maine
When things were more than I could take, I could always take a train
[Chorus]
But nobody rides the train
The days of railroad bums are nearly gone
There are no more jungle camps outside sleepy towns
No more nights beneath the stars upon the sweet, warm ground
I hate to see them pass
Though the memories that I have will never change
But it makes me feel so bad, it makes my old heart sad
Nobody rides the train

Nobody rides the train
The days of railroad bums are nearly gone
There are no more jungle camps outside sleepy towns
No more nights beneath the stars upon the sweet, warm ground
I hate to see them pass
Though the memories that I have will never change
But it makes me feel so bad, it makes my old heart sad
Nobody rides the train

[Outro]
Nobody rides the train (nobody, nobody, nobody rides the train)
The days of railroad bums are nearly gone
There are no more jungle camps outside sleepy towns
No more nights beneath the stars upon the sweet, warm ground
I hate to see them pass (I hate to, I hate to, I hate to see them pass)
Though the memories that I have will never change
But it makes me feel so bad, it makes my old heart sad
Nobody rides the train