Live 13 Jan 1970 version
Locomotive number 9 travelling down to New Orleans
Spitting fire, smoke black as coal, the hottest that I've ever seen
Oh Engineer, Mr. Engineer, won't you please get me home on time
'Cause I can't stay away, no not another day from the pretty little woman of mine
I been a long time riding oh down this rusty track
And I fear that I'd never get home
I been a long time dreaming of what I do when I get back
Be there when the morning comes, when the morning comes
Hey there Mr. Conductor, can you tell me what time we're due
Well I hate to seem impatient but you'd be excited too
If you got a pretty little woman like I got just waiting for you back at home
And once I reach her loving arms I'll never again shall roam
I been a long time riding oh down this rusty track
And I fear that I'd never get home
Long time dreaming of what I'll do when I get back
Be there when the morning comes, when the morning comes
Oh yeah
I been a long time riding oh down this rusty track
And I fear that I'd never get home
I been a long time dreaming of what I'll do when I get back
Be there when the morning comes, when the morning comes
Seems kinda hard to believe that I'm going, I'm going home at last
And they say that things have changed, well I guess a lot of time has passed
And just a few more miles and a little more time before you know it I'll be there
And I'll be waltzing arm in arm with my darling electric chair
Everybody sing
Seems kinda hard to believe I'm going home at last
They say that things have changed, well I guess a lot of time has passed
Just a few more miles and a little more time before you know it I'll be there
And I'll be waltzing arm in arm with my darling electric chair
And I'll be waltzing arm in arm with my darling electric chair
I been a long time riding oh down this rusty track
And I feel that I'd never get home
I been a long time dreaming of what I'd do when I'd get back
Be there when the morning comes, when the morning comes
The above lyrics are for the live 13 Jan 1970 performance of THE TRAIN SONG at The Matrix in San Francisco, CA, with Steel Mill.
Steel Mill performed a series of concerts in January and February 1970 at The Matrix, opening for Boz Scaggs or The Elvin Bishop Band. On one of the know dates of these concerts, 13 Jan 1970, scheduled headliner Boz Scaggs cancelled due to illness and Steel Mill became the sole act on the bill. This show was attended by critic Philip Elwood who turned up intending to review Scaggs but ended up writing a highly favorable review of Steel Mill that appeared in the 14 Jan 1970 edition of The San Francisco Examiner. An excellent-quality soundboard recording from one of the California gigs is in circulation and has been released on several mainstream bootlegs. The audio very likely (but not absolutely certain) emanates from this 13 Jan 1970 show, as it seems to correspond closely to details noted in Elwood's article.
The 13 Jan 1970 show in San Francisco, CA (minus GOIN' DOWN SLOW) was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.
Most of the above info about the 13 Jan 1970 show is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of THE TRAIN SONG on this website:
THE TRAIN SONG [Studio version]
