Red light in my block,
Green light down the line;
Lawdy, let yo' green light
Shine down on that babe o' mine.
Heard a train callin'
Blowin' long ways down the track;
Ain't no train due here,
Baby what can you bring back?
Brakeman tell me
Got a powerful ways to go;
He don't know my feelin's
Baby, when he's talkin' so.
Lanterns a-swingin',
An' a long freight leaves the yard;
Leaves me here, baby,
But my heart it rides de rod.
Sparks a flyin',
Wheels rumblin' wid a mighty roar;
Then the red tail light,
And the place gets dark once more.
Dog in the freight room
Howlin' like he los' his mind;
Might howl myself,
If I was the howlin' kind.
Norfolk and Western,
Bobay, and the C. & O.;
How come they treat
A hardluck feller so?
Red light in my block,
Green light down the line;
Lawdy, let yo' green light
Shine down on that babe o' mine.