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.

Les matins se suivent et se ressemblent
Quand l'amour fait place au quotidien
On n'était pas fait pour vivre ensemble
Ça n'suffit pas de toujours s'aimer bien
C'est drôle, hier, on s'ennuyait
Et c'est à peine si l'on trouvait
Des mots pour se parler du mauvais temps
Et maintenant qu'il faut partir
On a cent mille choses à dire
Qui tiennent trop à cœur pour si peu de 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 quelques fois se passent un peu trop bien

On s'est aimé comme on se quitte
Tout simplement sans penser à demain
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

Roch Voisine - City of New Orleans

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.

Mornings pass one by one and are alike
When love makes room for routine
We weren't made to live together
Still liking each other isn't enough
Funny how yesterday we were bored
And we could barely find
Words to talk about the bad weather
And now that we have to go
We have a hundred thousands things to do
That mean too much to us for such a little time

We loved each other like we're breaking up
Simply without thinking about tomorrow
About tomorrow that always comes a little too fast
About farewells that sometimes go on a little too well

We loved each other like we're breaking up
Simply without thinking about tomorrow
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.