I got this from my father. He would often recite the words of songs, but this is the only one I ever remember him actually singing – and that was only on one occasion! (He used to recite it quite a lot though). Dad always called it "I Quarreled With My Dear Old Father". In the late 1990s, I heard a slightly longer version from Ken Lewis of Hissington, Shropshire, Ken called it “I’m Riding Along in a Freight Train” and, I now realise, his version was pretty much like the original. However, as far as I'm aware, neither of he nor my father knew that it was an American song. And it's only from this thread that I've found the correct title. Thank you, Mudcat.

I Quarrelled With My Dear Old Father - as recited by John F Bartram on many occasions but only recorded c. 1990.

I quarrelled with my dear old father
Because of the things I had done.
He called me a drunkard and a gambler;
Not fit to be called his son.

I cursed and I swore at my father
And I told him his words were a lie.
Then I packed all my things in a bundle
And went to kiss mother goodbye.

My poor mother broke down in crying,
"My son, oh, my son do not leave.
Your poor mother's heart will be broken
And all my life long I will grieve."

She kissed me and called me her darling
And, round me, her arms she did throw.
I shall never forget that sad parting,
When I said, "Mother dear, I must go."

I know she will wait by the window,
Year after year as I roam;
Watching and wond’ring and praying
For her wand'rer who'll never come home.

So, boy, hear the wanderer's warning.
Don't break your poor mother's heart.
Stay by her side, for she needs you,
And let nothing tear you apart.