I'm sailin, sailin
Place I've never seen
That's way down south
Sweet old New Orleans
Cause my hometown friends
Treats me awful mean

If I could holler, yeah holler
If I could scream and cry
It hurts me so
When I look up in the sky
Cause my friends turn their heads
As they pass em by

Now it's rainin, it's rainin
The wind's blowin cold
Lord I thought I heard
My train whistle blow
Now I'm gonna sail so far
Till I won't be back no more

Pardon me, pardon me
It's so hard to stand
I ain't got no money
Uncle Sam has called my man
Now there's not a soul
To give me a helpin ha