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
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin’ trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

Good morning America how are you?
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’ card games 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 father’s magic carpets made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin’ to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.

Nighttime on The City of New Orleans,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Half way home, we’ll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain’t heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues.

Good night, America, how are you?
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.

Love is a burning thing
And It Makes A fiery Ring
Bound By Wild Desire
I Fell Into A Ring Of Fire

I Fell Into A Burning ring of Fire
I Went Down, Down, down
And The Flames Went Higher

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring of Fire

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

The Taste Of Love Is Sweet
When Hearts Like Ours Meet
I Fell For You Like A Child
Oh, But The Fire Went Wild

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

I bless the day I found you
I want to stay around you
And so I beg you, let it be me
Don’t take this heaven from one
if you must cling to someone
Now and forever, let it be me

When I’m with your love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love
What would life be?

So never leave me lonely
Say that you love me only
And that you’ll always
let it be me
let it be me

When I’m with your love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love
What would life be?

So never leave me lonely
tell me you’ll love me only
And that you’ll always, let it be me
let it be me
let it be me

Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed
Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed
Whatever colors you have in your mind
I’ll show them to you and you’ll see them shine

Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed
Stay, lady, stay, stay with your man awhile
Until the break of day, let me see you make him smile
His clothes are dirty but his hands are clean
And you’re the best thing that he’s ever seen

Stay, lady, stay, stay with your man awhile
Why wait any longer for the world to begin
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the one you love
When he’s standing in front of you

Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed
Stay, lady, stay, stay while the night is still ahead
I long to see you in the morning light
I long to reach for you in the night
Stay, lady, stay, stay while the night is still ahead

Crazy…I’m crazy for feelin’ so lonely
I’m crazy…crazy for feelin’ so blue
I knew you’d love me as long as you wanted
And then someday, you’d leave me for somebody new

Worry…why do I let myself worry ?
Wonderin’…what in the world did I do ?
Oh, crazy…for thinkin’ that my love could hold you
I’m crazy for tryin’, and crazy for cryin’
And I’m crazy for lovin’you

Crazy…for thinkin’ that my love could hold you
I’m crazy for tryin’, and crazy for cryin’
And I’m crazy for lovin’you

We’re caught in a trap
I can’t walk out
Because I love you too much baby

Why can’t you see
What you’re doing to me
When you don’t believe a word I say?

We can’t go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can’t build our dreams
On suspicious minds

So, if an old friend I know
Drops by to say hello
Would I still see suspicious in your eyes ?

Here we go again
Asking where I’ve been
You can’t see these tears are real
I’m crying

We can’t go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can’t build our dreams
On suspicious minds

Oh let our love survive
Or dry the tears from your eyes
Let’s don’t a good thing die

Honey, you know I’ve never lied to you

We’re caught in a trap
I can’t walk out
Because I love you too much baby

Why can’t you see
What you’re doing to me
When you don’t believe a word I say?

It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the madamoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell,
« C’est la vie », say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale,
But when Pierre found work, the little money comin’ worked out well
« C’est la vie », say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records, all rock, rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell
« C’est la vie », say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They bought a souped-up jitney, ’twas a cherry red ’53,
They drove it down to Orleans to celebrate the anniversary
It was there that Pierre was married to the lovely madamoiselle
« C’est la vie », say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

And I love you so
The people ask me how
How I’ve lived till now
I tell them I don’t know

I guess they understand
How lonely life has been
But life began again
The day you took my hand

And, yes, I know how lonely life can be
The shadows follow me, and the night won’t set me free
But I don’t let the evening get me down
Now that you’re around me

And you love me, too
Your thoughts are just for me
You set my spirit free
I’m happy that you do
The book of life is brief
And once a page is read
All but love is dead
That is my belief

And, yes, I know how loveless life can be
The shadows follow me, and the night won’t set me free

But I don’t let the evening bring me down
Now that you’re around me

And I love you so
The people ask me how
How I’ve lived till now
I tell them, I don’t know

Maybe I didn’t treat you
Quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn’t love you
Quite as often as I could have
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time

You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn’t died
Give me, give me one more chance
To keep you satisfied, satisfied

Maybe I didn’t hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I’m so happy that you’re mine
If I made you feel second best
Girl I’m so sorry I was blind

You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn’t died
Give me, give me one more chance

To keep you satisfied, satisfied

Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time

You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin’ cotton and my brother was balin’ hay
And at dinner time we stopped and we walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered at the back door « y’all remember to wipe your feet »
And then she said she got some news this mornin’ from Choctaw Ridge
Today Billie Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

Papa said to mama as he passed around the blackeyed peas
« Well, Billie Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits, please »
« There’s five more acres in the lower forty I’ve got to plow »
Mama said it was shame about Billie Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin’ ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billie Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And brother said he recollected when he and Tom and Billie Joe
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
And wasn’t I talkin’ to him after church last Sunday night?
« I’ll have another piece of apple pie, you know it just don’t seem right »
« I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge »
« And now you tell me Billie Joe’s jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge »

Mama said to me « Child, what’s happened to your appetite? »
« I’ve been cookin’ all morning and you haven’t touched a single bite »
« That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today »
« Said he’d be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way »
« He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge »
« And she and Billie Joe was throwing somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge »

A year has come ‘n’ gone since we heard the news ’bout Billie Joe
Brother married Becky Thompson, they bought a store in Tupelo
There was a virus going ’round, papa caught it and he died last Spring
And now mama doesn’t seem to wanna do much of anything
And me, I spend a lot of time pickin’ flowers up on Choctaw Ridge

And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge

If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I’ll go but I know
I’ll think of you every step of the way

And I will always love you
I will always love you

You, you, my darling you

Bittersweet memories
That is all I’m taking with me
So goodbye Please don’t cry
We both know I’m not what you
You need

I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you dreamed of
And I wish to you joy and happiness
But above all this, I wish to you love

I will always love you

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
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin’ trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

Refrain :
Good morning America how are you?
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.

Les matins se suivent et se ressemblent,
Quand l’amour fait place au quotidien.
On n’était pas fait pour vivre ensemble,
Ca ne suffit pas de toujours s’aimer bien.
C’est trop lumière ou sans lumière
Et c’est à peine si on trouvait les mots pour se parler du mauvais du temps
Et maintenant qu’il faut partir on a cent mille choses à dire
Qui tiennent trop à c?ur pour si peu d’temps

On s’est aimé comme on se quitte
Tout simplement sans penser à demain
A demain qui vient toujours un peu trop vite
Aux adieux qui quelque fois se passe un peu trop bien

On s’est aimé comme on se quitte
Tout simplement sans penser à demain
A demain qui vient toujours un peu trop vite
Aux adieux qui quelque fois se passe un peu trop bien
I’m the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I’ll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

I bless the day I found you
I want to stay around you
And so I beg you, let it be me
Don’t take this heaven from one
If you must cling to someone
Now and forever, let it be me

When I’m with your love
I find complete love
Without you sweet love
What would life be?

De tout mon être
Tu es le seul maître
Je dois me soumettre
Je t’appartiens
Je t’appartiens

Si tu condamnes
Si tu me damnes
Voici mon âme
Voici mes mains

Avec les peines, l’amour et la haine
Coulant dans mes veines
Je t’appartiens
Let it be me
Let it be me

C’était le quatre juin, le soleil tapait depuis le matin
Je m’occupais de la vigne et mon frère chargeait le foin
Et l’heure du déjeuner venue, on est retourné à la maison
Et notre mère a crié de la cuisine « Essuyez vos pieds sur l’ paillasson »
Puis elle nous dit qu’elle avait des nouvelles de Bourg-les-Essonnes
Ce matin, Marie-Jeanne Guillaume s’est jetée du pont de la Garonne

Et mon père dit à ma mère en nous passant le plat de gratin
« La Marie-Jeanne, elle n’était pas très maligne, passe-moi donc le pain.
Y a bien encore deux hectares à labourer dans le champ de la canne »
Et maman dit « Tu vois, quand j’y pense, c’est quand même bête pour cette pauvre Marie-Jeanne
On dirait qu’il n’arrive jamais rien de bon à Bourg-les-Essonnes
Et voilà qu’ Marie-Jeanne Guillaume va s’ jeter du pont de la Garonne »

Et mon frère dit qu’il se souvenait quand lui et moi et le grand Nicolas
On avait mis une grenouille dans le dos de Marie-Jeanne, un soir au cinéma
Et il me dit « Tu te rappelles, tu lui parlais ce dimanche près de l’église
Donne-moi encore un peu de vin, c’est bien injuste la vie
Dire que j’ l’ai vue à la scierie hier à Bourg-les-Essonnes
Et qu’aujourd’hui Marie-Jeanne s’est jetée du pont de la Garonne »

Maman m’a dit enfin « Mon grand, tu n’as pas beaucoup d’appétit
J’ai cuisiné tout ce matin et tu n’as rien touché, tu n’as rien pris
Dis-moi, la sœur de ce jeune curé est passée en auto
Elle m’a dit qu’elle viendrait dimanche à dîner… Oh ! et à propos
Elle dit qu’elle a vu un garçon qui t’ ressemblait à Bourg-les-Essonnes
Et lui et Marie-Jeanne jetaient quelque chose du pont de la Garonne »

Toute une année est passée, on ne parle plus du tout de Marie-Jeanne
Mon frère qui s’est marié a pris un magasin avec sa femme
La grippe est venue par chez nous et mon père en est mort en janvier
Depuis, maman n’a plus envie de faire grand-chose, elle est toujours fatiguée
Et moi, de temps en temps j’ vais ramasser quelques fleurs du côté des Essonnes
Et je les jette dans les eaux boueuses du haut du pont de la Garonne

STUDIOS: Blackbird Studio et Sound Emporium, Nashville TN
RÉALISATEURS: Nathan Chapman et Chad Carlson
(sauf pour City Of New Orleans and I Love You So Nathan Chapman)
Ingénieur enregistrement et mixage: Chad Carlson
Assistants: Gordon Hammond, Mark Petaccia
Mastering audio: Hank Williams
Mastermix Studios Management: Pierre Charbonneau
PHOTOS: OSA Images, Sandrine Corsi, Roch Voisine
DESIGN: SDE.ca