City of New Orleans (song)

This article is about a folk song. For the Amtrak train this song is about, see City of New Orleans. For the City, see New Orleans.

"City of New Orleans"
Single by Steve Goodman
from the album Steve Goodman
Released	1971
Format	45
Genre	Folk
Writer(s)	Steve Goodman

"City of New Orleans" is a folk song written by Steve Goodman (and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans via the Illinois Central Railroad in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. Goodman got the idea while traveling on the eponymous train for a visit to his wife's family. He performed the song for Arlo Guthrie in the Quiet Knight, a bar in Chicago, and Guthrie agreed to add it to his repertoire. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo's Lullaby, and is now more closely associated with him, although Goodman performed it until his death in 1984. The song has also been covered by Willie Nelson, John Denver, Johnny Cash, The Country Gentlemen, Judy Collins, Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Sammi Smith, Hank Snow, Gerard Cox, Rudi Carell, Joe Dassin, Richard Clayderman and others.

Willie Nelson version

"City of New Orleans"
Single by Willie Nelson
from the album City of New Orleans
Released	July 1984
Format	7"
Recorded	October 1983
Genre	Country
Length	4:52
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Steve Goodman
Producer	Chips Moman
Willie Nelson singles chronology
"To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (1984) "City of New Orleans" (1984) "Seven Spanish Angels" (1985)

Steve Goodman won a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for Willie Nelson's version, which was included on his 1984 album of the same name. It reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the United States and the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.

Chart positions

Chart (1984)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	18
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks	30
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	3

Preceded by "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)" by Alabama	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single November 3, 1984	Succeeded by "I've Been Around Enough to Know" by John Schneider
	RPM Country Tracks number-one single November 10, 1984

Covers

In 1972, Joe Dassin recorded a French version of the song (though lyrics have no connection whatsoever with the original) on the album Joe, under the title “Salut les amoureux”. Dassin sings the last line of the chorus a fourth lower than the original on a conventional IV-V-I chord progression.

The Dutch singer Gerard Cox recorded a version of the song with summer-themed lyrics under the title ′t Is weer voorbij, die mooie zomer. He had a number-one hit in 1973 in his home country.

His compatriot Rudi Carrell had a hit in Germany with a similarly themed German version Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer? in 1975. It was re-covered several times in the following decades.

Yoram Gaon recorded a Hebrew version in the seventies called "Hello Wonderful Country". The lyrics, written by Ilan Goldaers, describe the beauty of Israel and how there is no place like home.

Johnny Cash along with June Carter Cash included a cover on the 1973 album Johnny Cash and His Woman.

Sammi Smith performed the song on a Hee Haw episode that aired Jan 1, 1973.

Judy Collins included a cover of the song on her 1975 album Judith.

Juha Vainio wrote the Finnish lyrics for the song under the title "Huomenta Suomi" (Finnish for "Good morning Finland"), which was recorded and made a domestic hit by the band Karma in 1976 and Matti Esko in 1989 in the album Näin Suomi pysyy pyörillään.

In the mid-1980s the song was adopted as a commercial jingle for the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.

Norwegian folk singer and guitar player Øystein Sunde recorded a version, entitled "Liten Og Grønn" (Tiny And Green) with norwegian rewritten lyrics for his 1981 album Barkebille Boogie. The new lyrics are from the perspective of a Twin Otter plane operating the vast distances between rural towns in the northern parts of Norway, often in bad weather conditions, knowing it is on its way to unavoidably being outdated.

Arlo Guthrie has recorded a polka version of the song. In September 2005, Jimmy Buffett performed the song at Wrigley Field as a tribute to Hurricane Katrina victims. It was the first concert at Wrigley not tied to a baseball game. In October 2006, guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed the song during the band's set at the Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans. Allen Toussaint covered this song in his 2010 tour, notably at the Festival international d’été de Québec in Quebec City.

Roch Voisine recorded a mixed English/French version of this song which appears his album Americana.

See also

• List of train Songs

External links

• Original lyrics
• Arlo Guthrie cover lyric version
• Classic Tracks: Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans"