Midnight Special

"Midnight Special" is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the south of the USA. The song refers to the passenger train Midnight Special and its "ever-loving light" (sometimes "ever-living light"). The first printed reference to the song was in a 1923 issue of Adventure magazine. In 1927, Carl Sandburg published two different versions of "Midnight Special" in his The American Songbag, the first published versions. The song has been covered by many artists.

Yonder come Miss Rosie, how in the world do you know Well I know by the apron and the dress she wore Well an umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand Well I'm gonna ask the governor, he turn a-lose a-my man Let the midnight special, shine the light on me Let the midnight special, shine the ever-lovin' light on me When you get up in the mornin', when that big bell ring You go and march to the table, see the same damn thing Knife and fork are on the table, there's nothin' in my pan And if you say anything about it, havin' trouble with the man Well I went to the nation and to the territo(ry) Well I thought about the girl I love, in that Mexico If you ever go to Houston, oh you better walk right And you better not squallow and you better not fight Sheriff Rocko will arrest you, Eddie Boone will take you down You can bet your bottom dollar, penitentiary bound Well jumpin' little Judy, she was a mighty fine girl Well Judy brought jumpin' to this whole round world Well she brought it in the mornin', just a while before day She brought me the news, that my wife was dead That started me to grievin', then hollerin' and a-cryin' Then I had to give the worry about a been a long time