HOBO BILL LYRICS---In Response To Blog Hits

The song Hobo Bill was written for Jimmy Rodgers (not the Honey Comb guy) Go to You Tube many artists have covered this great tune. What follows is the original long version (BTW: I have a second cousin who is an engineer on the Southern Railroad)

Riding on an eastbound freight train, speeding through the night,
Hobo Bill, the railroad bum, was fighting for his life.

The sadness of his eyes revealed the torture of his soul,
As he raised a weak and weary hand to brush away the cold.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy

As the train sped through the darkness, with that raging storm outside,
Hobo Bill, the railroad bum, was taking his last ride.

No warm light flickered around him, no blanket to fold.
Nothing but the howling wind and the driving rain so cold.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy
Yodels...

Well he heard the whistle blowing in a dreamy sort of way,
The hobo seemed contented, for he smiled there where he lay.

Outside the rain was a-pouring on that lonely boxcar door,
And the little form of Hobo Bill lay still upon the floor.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy
Yodels...

As the train sped through the darkness, with that raging storm outside,
No one knew that Hobo Bill was taking his last ride.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy

He heard the whistle blowing in a dreamy sort of way,
The smile lingered o'er his face but Hobo passed away.

Yodels

It was early in the morning when they raised the hobo's head,
The smile still lingered on his face, but Hobo Bill was dead.

There was no mother's longing to think of his weary soul,
He was nothing but a railroad bum who died out in the cold.