MIDNIGHT TRAIN
(Charlie Daniels / Joel DiGregorio / Tom Crain / Charles Hayward / Jack Gavin)


Charlie Daniels Band - 1988


Midnight train, roll on

Clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin'
Take this stranger on to Santa Fe
It seems like romance and danger
Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way

Well, the train was rumblin' through the night headed south for Santa Fe
And in a fancy car with a private bar and a personal valet
There was a bunch of cold-eyed men a-sittin' at a poker table
Bettin' hot stakes all around

Ol' Louisiana Lou had a knife in his shoe, was dealin' a hand o' cards 
And ol' Stagger Lee Crocket had a gun in his pocket was sweatin' and bettin' hard 
And over in the corner, this Mexican guy with two gold teeth 
And a patch on his eye, took a long hard look around

And then the door flew open, a stranger walked in
Said, "Don't y'all get excited, I know this here's a private game
And I know I weren't invited, but I got a roll that"d choke a mule
I'm just about a big enough fool to lay it all right down"

And everybody nodded as the stranger took his seat
He knew this bunch of cutthroat's would be mighty hard to beat
As the stranger knew that the toughest two by far from where he sat
Was a pot-bellied fella from south Alabama and a dude in a black felt hat

Midnight train, roll on

Well, clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin'
Take this stranger on to Santa Fe
It seems like romance and danger
Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way

Well, the stranger sat down, he looked around at all them evil faces
And the pot-bellied fella drew a pair of queens
But the stranger he drew aces and he kept on raisin' and pushin' his luck
And he kept on winnin' like a runaway truck, he was givin' them a beatin'

As the stakes got higher than a Chinese kite, the stranger kept gettin' hot
Till every cent everybody had was lyin' out in the pot
And then the stranger threw down a royal flush, somebody said
"Hey man, that's enough, friend, I think you've been cheatin'"

And then the stranger picked the money up and said, "Boys, I better run"
And then the pot-bellied fella pulled a razor out and somebody pulled a gun
They said, "You may think you're a sly old fox, you're gonna leave here
In a long pine box if you don't leave that money alone"

Just about then the lights went out and they all started fussin'
And the lights came on, the stranger was gone, they all started cussin'
And they searched that train from front to rear
That stranger he done disappeared and all their money was gone

When the train pulled in the station, with the whistle blowin' loud
A telegram was waitin' from the stranger for the crowd
Said, "Thank you for the money, boys, but don't feel too outdone
'Cause it takes a dog to know a dog, and I'm a howlin' son of a gun"

Midnight train, roll on (Roll on, roll on)
Midnight train, roll on (Roll on, roll on)

Well, clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin'
Take this stranger on to Santa Fe
It seems like romance and danger
Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way
Oh, he's long gone





(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - January 2017)