Lyr Req: Hobo's Meditation (Jimmie Rodgers)

Subject: Need Lyrics: Will there be any freight trains
From:
Date: 26 Aug 97 - 01:43 PM

Looking for lyrics to "Will there be any Freight Trains in Heaven?"

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: Will there be any freight trains
From: rechal
Date: 26 Aug 97 - 07:12 PM

There was a thread about this last week called "Will there be no____ in Heaven." Anyway, I grabbed my Trio CD (a collaboration between Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt) and here's the poop:

The song is called "Hobo's Meditation," but I think I've also heard it referred to as Hobo's Lament. It was written by Jimmie Rodgers, aka the Yodeling Brakeman. Here are the lyrics:


HOBO'S MEDITATION

Tonight as I lay on the boxcar
Just waiting for a train to pass by,
What will become of the hobo,
When his time comes to die?

There's a Master up yonder in heaven
Got a place that we might call our home.
Will we have to work for a living,
Or can we continue to roam?

CHORUS: Will there be any freight trains in heaven?
Any boxcars in which we might hide?
Will there be any tough cops or brakemen?
Will they tell us that we cannot ride?

Will the hobo chum with the rich man?
Will we always have money to spare?
Will they have respect for the hobo
In that land that lies hidden up there?

(Chorus)

Copyright 1933

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: Will there be any freight trains
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 27 Aug 97 - 11:19 AM

Our family performed this song with great success for many years, but we felt that it needed another verse; so, with apologies to Jimmie Rodgers, we came up with the following, sung as the final verse:

In that sweet land that lies over yonder,
Does the warm summer sun always shine?
Will there be fences and watchdogs,
And are the trains always on time?

Are there orchards and gardens aplenty
Where my friends will be waiting for me?
Does God have a place for the wand'rer
Where we'll be allowed to roam free?

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics: Will there be any freight trains
From: rechal
Date: 27 Aug 97 - 01:29 PM

That's beautiful, Bill. What name did your family perform under? What other songs did you do? How long ago was this? Do you still perform? I'm fascinated!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hobo's Meditation / Hobo's Lament
From: GUEST,Lee Barker
Date: 29 Sep 10 - 05:13 PM

I just found this site with Bill's lyric. We agreed with him, independently, and this is the additional lyric I came up with:


When the last train rolls into glory,
Will the rails be plated in gold?
When the passengers step to the platform,
And all of their stories are told,

Will we sit down at the same table,
The rich and the poor, every one?
Will we all see the Master in glory,
In the place that shines bright as the sun?


Feel free to use this as you wish!

Subject: Lyr Add: HOBO'S MEDITATION (Jimmie Rodgers)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Oct 10 - 05:40 PM

I have listened to this song at YouTube, and I find there are a few differences compared to the transcription above:


HOBO'S MEDITATION
As sung by Jimmie Rodgers, 1932

1. Tonight as I lay on a boxcar
Just waiting for a train to pass by,
What will become of the hobo,
Whenever their time comes to die?
Has the Master up yonder in heaven
Got a place that we might call our home?
Will we have to work for a living,
Or can we continue to roam?

4-LINE YODEL

2. Will there be any freight trains in heaven?
Any boxcars in which we might hide?
Will there be any tough cops and brakemans?
Will they tell us that we cannot ride?
Will the hobo chum with the rich man?
Will he always have money to spare?
Will they have respect for a hobo
In the land that lies hidden up there?

REPEAT 2.

1-LINE YODEL.