I'm sailin', sailin',
Place I've never seen
That's way down south,
Sweet 'ol New Orleans
'Cause my hometown friends treats me awful mean
If I could holler, yeah holler
If I could scream and cry,
It hurts me so
When I look up in the sky,
'Cause my friends turn their heads,
As they passin' by
Now it's rainin', it's rainin'
The wind's blowin' cold,
Lord I thought I heard
My train whistle blow,
Now I'm gonna sail so far
'Till I won't be back no more
Pardon me, pardon me,
It's so hard to stand
I ain't got no money,
Uncle Sam has called my man
Now there's not a soul,
To give me a helpin' hand