Well i got my mail late last night
a letter from a girl who found the time to write
to her lonesome boy somewhere in the night
she sent me a railroad ticket too
to take me to her loving arms
and the big steel rail
gonna carry me home to the one i love
Well i been out here many a long days
i haven't found a place that i could call my own
not a two bit bed to lay my body on
i been stood up i been shook down
i bin dragged into the sand
and the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one i love
Well i been up tight most every night
walking along the streets of this old town
not a friend to tell my troubles to
my good old car she done broke down
'cause i drove it into the ground
and the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one i love
Well look over yonder across the plain
the big drive wheels a-pounding along the ground
gonna get on board and i'll be homeward bound
now i ain't had a home cooked meal
and lord i need one now
and the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one i love
Now here i am with my head in the sand
standing on the broad highway will you give a ride
to a lonesome boy who missed the train last night
i went in town for one last round
and i gambled my ticket away
and the big steel rail won't carry me home to the one i love