Railroad Man Lyrics – Bill Withers

Ad Lib
I was a little boy
Back in West Virginia
We lived very close to a railroad track
And I remember I used to dream about them trains
And where they might go
And the people that worked on the trains
And the train made music
It made you feel good
I can remember sometimes
I could just stand off all by myself
And just get funky list'nin' to the train
And I used to pick up a handful of gravels
And throw ‘em down on the ground for ties
Yeah and I'd make up songs
I'd sing

He was a railroad man
He was a railroad man
He was a railroad man
‘Til he stepped in front of the railroad train.

He rode across the plains
He rode on a fruit freight train
The hauled bananas to Savannah
And wore bandannas made in Old Japan.

He was a railroad man
He was a railroad man
He was a railroad man
‘Til he stepped in front of the railroad train.

He used to change his name
To every place he came
His name was Tex when he's in Texas
And Bangor when he went to Maine.

He was a railroad man
He was a railroad man
He was a railroad man
‘Til he stepped in front of the railroad train.

It's all right
Say you know it's all right
If you've ever been downtown
You know what I'm talkin' ‘bout