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Rock Island Line Lyrics

Artist: Johnny Cash
Album: Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar

Now this here's the story about the Rock Island Line
The Rock Island Line she runs down into New Orleasn
And just outside of New Orleans is a big toll gate
And all the trains that go through the toll gate
They gotta pay the man some money
But of course, if you got certain things on board
You're okay and you don't have to pay the man nothin
And just now we see a change comin down the line
When you come up to the toll gate
The driver, he shout down to the man
I got pigs, I got horses, I got cows
I got sheep, I got all livestock, I got all livestock
I got all livestock
The man say, you alright boy just
Get on through, you don't have to pay me nothin
And then the train go through
And when he go through the tollgate
The train gotta have a little bit of steam
And a little bit of speed
And when the driver think he safely on the other side
He shouts back down the line to the man
I fooled you, I fooled you
I got pig iron, I got pig iron
I got all pig iron,

CHORUS:

Down the rock island line is a might good road
Oh the rock island line is the road to ride
The rock island line is a mighty good road
Well if you want to ride you gotta ride it like you find it
Get your ticket at the station of the rock island line

it was cloudy in the west, looked like rain,
but round the corner come-a passenger train.
North-bound train on the south bound track,
you were all right a-leavin but you won't be back

Chorus

now I may be right and I may be wrong
but you're gonna miss me when I'm gone

Now the engineer said before he died,
there were two more drinks he'd like to have tried,
the doctor asked him "what could they be"
he said "a hot cup of coffee and a cold glass of tea"

chorus

Comments/Interpretations

by Nikoros on 7/18/2008 10:05am
Excellent song! I really like it! :)

by Sarah on 7/29/2008 7:12pm
Great song but the lyrics are all wrong!

by williamsdaryl@att.net on 9/12/2008 11:17am
i can not find the rock island line by johnny cash karaoke vergon anywhere.

by lynton on 9/13/2008 8:22am
I remember when this came out- quite a few versions- the lyrics above are not quite correct!.

by DC on 10/9/2008 3:09pm
we see a "train" not a "change coming down the line

by Bradley on 2/5/2009 11:27pm
wow, where'd they find these lyrics. Not the way I heard it.

by travelerljl on 2/17/2009 12:33pm
Shouldn't this line (the doctor asked him "what could they be") be "the CONDUCTOR asked him . . . "?

by .................... on 3/26/2009 5:04am
well.......idk what to say other than half the lyrics are wrong in this

by Marc on 5/14/2009 10:55am
This is not a Johnny Cash song... Leadbelly recorded it before Johnny

by Ace of Tunes on 8/12/2009 8:15am
Kelly Pace has the first recording of this song. This can be found on the : "Library of Congress - A Treasury of Field Recordings" album

by wrong on 7/28/2010 6:32am
These are all wrong!

by Guphy Duck on 5/27/2011 6:44pm
GEt over ut, it's a remake!

by The Rebel Johnny Puma on 5/27/2011 6:46pm
Well, it sure seems that this is the lyrics to the JOHNNY CASH version. Not anyone else. I seem to recall all the words being right to the JOHNNY CASH VERSION!

by Otis Befuddle on 6/23/2011 4:40pm
It was Lonnie Donegan that had a hit with this back in the fifties. The same guy who did "does your chewing gum loose its flavor."

A great example of delivery over content. There is really not very much here, but Donegan's delivery was infectious.

by some young guy on 2/7/2012 9:29am
not the Doctor...the conductor!

by caitlin on 3/27/2012 2:42pm
this is the song that were singi8ng to on friday for morning of music and i love cameron

by Youremovalguy on 7/25/2012 4:21am
I got the purely johnny cash cd lyrics are a little different

by paulrampley@gmail.com on 1/3/2014 8:38am
after fox news this a.m. the line of a song poped into my mind i finally remembered it wes a line in rock island line by johnny cash.now if ray stevens could make up some funy lyrics with picture of obama looking back at
fooled foolish amelicans