City of New Orleans (song)
Encyclopedia
"City of New Orleans" is a folk song written by Steve Goodman
(and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago
to New Orleans via the Illinois Central Railroad
in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. Goodman got the idea while traveling on the eponymous train
for a visit to his wife's family. He performed the song for Arlo Guthrie
in the Quiet Knight, a bar in Chicago, and Guthrie agreed to add it to his repertoire. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo's Lullaby
, and is now more closely associated with him, although Goodman performed it until his death in 1984. The song has also been covered by Willie Nelson
, John Denver
, Johnny Cash
, Judy Collins
, Jerry Reed
, Chet Atkins
, Hank Snow
, Gerard Cox
, Rudi Carell, Joe Dassin
and others.
for Best Country Song in 1984 for Willie Nelson
's version, which was included on his 1984 album of the same name
. It reached #1 on both the Billboard
Hot Country Singles
chart in the United States and the RPM
Country Tracks chart in Canada.
recorded a French version of the song (though lyrics have no connection whatsoever with the original) on the album Joe, under the title “Salut les amoureux”. Dassin sings the last line of the chorus a fourth lower than the original on a conventional IV-V-I chord progression.
The Dutch singer Gerard Cox
recorded a version of the song with summer-themed lyrics under the title ′t Is weer voorbij, die mooie zomer. He had a number-one hit in 1973 in his home country.
His compatriot Rudi Carrell
had a hit in Germany with a similarly themed German version Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer? in 1975. It was re-covered several times in the following decades.
Yoram Gaon recorded a Hebrew version in the seventies called "Hello Wonderful Country". The lyrics, written by Ilan Goldaers, describe the beauty of Israel and how there is no place like home.
Johnny Cash
along with June Carter Cash
included a cover on the 1973 album Johnny Cash and His Woman
.
Judy Collins
included a cover of the song on her 1975 album Judith.
Juha Vainio
wrote the Finnish lyrics for the song under the title "Huomenta Suomi" (Finnish for "Good morning Finland"), which was recorded and made a domestic hit by the band Karma in 1976 and Matti Esko in 1989 in the album Näin Suomi pysyy pyörillään.
In the mid-1980s the song was adopted as a commercial jingle
for the Oldsmobile
Cutlass Ciera.
Arlo Guthrie
has recorded a polka
version of the song. In September 2005, Jimmy Buffett
performed the song at Wrigley Field
as a tribute to Hurricane Katrina
victims. It was the first concert at Wrigley not tied to a baseball game. In October 2006, guitarist John Frusciante
of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
performed the song during the band's set at the Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans. Allen Toussaint
covered this song in his 2010 tour, notably at the Festival international d’été de Québec in Quebec City
.
Roch Voisine
recorded a mixed English/French version of this song which appears his album Americana
.
Steve Goodman
Steve Goodman was an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. The writer of "City of New Orleans", made popular by Arlo Guthrie, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
(and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to New Orleans via the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. Goodman got the idea while traveling on the eponymous train
City of New Orleans
The City of New Orleans is a nightly passenger train operated by Amtrak which travels between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. Before Amtrak's formation in 1971, the train was operated by the Illinois Central Railroad along the same route . The train currently operates on a 19½ hour...
for a visit to his wife's family. He performed the song for Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
in the Quiet Knight, a bar in Chicago, and Guthrie agreed to add it to his repertoire. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo's Lullaby
Hobo's Lullaby (album)
Hobo's Lullaby is a 1972 LP by American folk singer Arlo Guthrie. This album features Guthrie's most recent Top 40 hit to date, a cover of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans."-Track listing:# Anytime - 1:46 Hobo's Lullaby is a 1972 LP by American folk singer Arlo Guthrie. This album features...
, and is now more closely associated with him, although Goodman performed it until his death in 1984. The song has also been covered by Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...
, Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, Hank Snow
Hank Snow
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian-American country music artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980...
, Gerard Cox
Gerard Cox
Gerard Cox is a Dutch singer, cabaret artist and actor.-Albums:*1966: Gerard Cox*1971: Wie Wijst Gerard Cox De Weg...?*1972: Vrijblijvend...*1973: De Beste Van Gerard Cox...
, Rudi Carell, Joe Dassin
Joe Dassin
Joseph Ira Dassin , more commonly known as Joe Dassin, was an American singer-songwriter best known for his French songs of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
and others.
Willie Nelson version
Steve Goodman won a posthumous Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Country Song in 1984 for Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
's version, which was included on his 1984 album of the same name
City of New Orleans (album)
City of New Orleans is a 1984 album by country musician Willie Nelson, released by Columbia Records. The title track was penned by Steve Goodman, originally recorded by Arlo Guthrie in 1972; Nelson's version of the song topped the U.S. country singles chart...
. It reached #1 on both the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in the United States and the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Country Tracks chart in Canada.
Chart positions
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks | 30 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 3 |
Covers
In 1972, Joe DassinJoe Dassin
Joseph Ira Dassin , more commonly known as Joe Dassin, was an American singer-songwriter best known for his French songs of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
recorded a French version of the song (though lyrics have no connection whatsoever with the original) on the album Joe, under the title “Salut les amoureux”. Dassin sings the last line of the chorus a fourth lower than the original on a conventional IV-V-I chord progression.
The Dutch singer Gerard Cox
Gerard Cox
Gerard Cox is a Dutch singer, cabaret artist and actor.-Albums:*1966: Gerard Cox*1971: Wie Wijst Gerard Cox De Weg...?*1972: Vrijblijvend...*1973: De Beste Van Gerard Cox...
recorded a version of the song with summer-themed lyrics under the title ′t Is weer voorbij, die mooie zomer. He had a number-one hit in 1973 in his home country.
His compatriot Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell , born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar, was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters, Linda de Mol and Sylvie van der Vaart, Carrell was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in Germany.He worked as a television entertainer and hosted his...
had a hit in Germany with a similarly themed German version Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer? in 1975. It was re-covered several times in the following decades.
Yoram Gaon recorded a Hebrew version in the seventies called "Hello Wonderful Country". The lyrics, written by Ilan Goldaers, describe the beauty of Israel and how there is no place like home.
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
along with June Carter Cash
June Carter Cash
Valerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...
included a cover on the 1973 album Johnny Cash and His Woman
Johnny Cash and His Woman
Johnny Cash and His Woman is an album by American country singers Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1973 . It is a collection of duets by the couple, some of which had not appeared on any previous releases. The album peaked at No...
.
Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
included a cover of the song on her 1975 album Judith.
Juha Vainio
Juha Vainio
Juha Harri "Junnu" Vainio, also known as Juha "Watt" Vainio was a Finnish lyricist, singer, composer and teacher. With the lyrics or music to over 2,400 songs to his name, Vainio is as one of Finland's most prolific lyricists along with Reino Helismaa and Vexi Salmi...
wrote the Finnish lyrics for the song under the title "Huomenta Suomi" (Finnish for "Good morning Finland"), which was recorded and made a domestic hit by the band Karma in 1976 and Matti Esko in 1989 in the album Näin Suomi pysyy pyörillään.
In the mid-1980s the song was adopted as a commercial jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
for the Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
Cutlass Ciera.
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
has recorded a polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
version of the song. In September 2005, Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
performed the song at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
as a tribute to Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
victims. It was the first concert at Wrigley not tied to a baseball game. In October 2006, guitarist John Frusciante
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
performed the song during the band's set at the Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans. Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
covered this song in his 2010 tour, notably at the Festival international d’été de Québec in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
.
Roch Voisine
Roch Voisine
Joseph Armand Roch Voisine, OC better known as Roch Voisine, is a Canadian Acadian singer-songwriter, actor, and radio and television host...
recorded a mixed English/French version of this song which appears his album Americana
Americana (Roch Voisine album)
Americana is a 2008 album by Canadian singer Roch Voisine. Many of the tracks were recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.He followed that in 2009 with the album Americana II.-Track listing:Bonus bilingual English / French version tracks marked with [*]...
.