V1.) Down by the river bottom
In the jungle by the track
when a hobo jumps a freight train
he aint never comin' back.
Life there's tougher than a rail yard,
twice as hard to catch a train,
when you're heart is fond of ramblin'
you gotta hit the rails again.
V2.) When you ride inside a boxcar
be careful how you run
gotta make sure you don't wind up
on the wrong side of a gun.
Then one day some day maybe
you'll leave the hobo's life
settle in a city
with a gal who'll be you wife.
V3.) Sometimes when you ride the rails
it gets hard to survive
sometimes you'll meet old hobos
that are still alive.
The stories they tell are many
you can learn a thing or two
like I learned from my grand dad
who was a hobo too.
V4.) Grand dad rode the rails
back in the good old days
so when I was a young lad
I learned some hobo ways.
I learned about white lightning
and elderberry wine
and how to make that hobo stew that tasted mighty fine.
V5.) So that's my hobo story
just one of many tales
that I learned from my grand dad
who really rode the rails.
Now grand dad's up in heaven
prob'ly ridin' on a train
if there's freight trains up in heaven
he'll ride a boxcar once again.