In the alley dogs are barking, chickens crowing down the lane
And I feel just like that rooster and his mournful old refrain
With sun down on my shoulders just a hangin round the yard
Ill be leaving here tomorrow, gonna catch an empty car
Theres a thousand constellations in that brilliant beaming sky
But the earth is just one station in that lonesome starry line
And theres a distant whistle blowing down a rusty stretch of track
And Im just an empty coal car on that train not coming back
-Chorus-
But I hate to see that evening sun go down
When its lonesome coming down on my trail
And I know this train will take me where Im bound
But I hate to see that evening sun go down
The sidewalks have their streetlamps the city has her glow
The poor boy has the moonlight walking in his shadow
But the nighttime cant be trusted to return the morning sun
My eyes have not adjusted to this black face I got on
-Chorus-
Dont the nighttime make you lonesome for that early morning sun
For the light upon that engine reaching towards the dawn
You can spend your whole life racing down rusty railroad line
Its the setting sun youre chasing in that dark and rolling sky