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 to give him a line of talk
He said "If you got money, I'll see that you don't walk"
"I haven't got a nickel, not a penny can I show"
"Get off, get off, you railroad bum" and slammed the boxcar door

He put me off in Texas, a state I dearly love
The wide open spaces all around me, the moon and the stars up above
Nobody seems to want me, or lend me a helping hand
I'm on my way from Frisco, going back to Dixieland
My pocket book is empty and my heart is full of pain
I'm a thousand miles away from home waiting for a train