In the dark I hear the whistle, the rumble of the cars
The lonesome midnight flyer, past the late night bars
Pulling sixty box-cars and heading through our town
Tearing up the night with a long lonesome sound
It's been a long year since I thought about the train
The greyhound and the highway took me where I've been
Late at night I hear the sound, the humming of the rails
The lonesome midnight flyer taking high wind in her sails
Here comes the midnight flyer
Set your watches by her
Wheels rolling, coming in on time
No one pays her no mind, no one hears her crying
'Cept some old man bumming down the line
Here comes the midnight flyer, tell me how do you know?
'Cause I heard her long whistle moan so soft and low
Wheels clicking on the rails in the stillness of the night
The engineer's pulling cord until he gets it right
She's rolling through the back yards, the sleepers in the night
On the outskirts of town, headlight burning bright
And she's pulling sixty box-cars and another railroad bum
Who heard her whistle blow and caught her on the run
Here comes the midnight flyer
Set your watches by her
Wheels rolling, coming in on time
No one pays her no mind, no one hears her crying
'Cept some old man bumming down the line