Midnight Train

[Chorus] Midnight train, roll on Midnight train, roll on [Verse 1] Clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin Take this stranger on to Santa Fe It seems like romance and danger Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way Well the train was rumbling through the night heading south to Santa Fe And in a fancy car, with a private bar, and a personal valet There was a bunch of cold eyed men a sittin at a poker table Betting hot stakes all around Ole Louisiana Lou had a knife in his shoe, was dealing a hand of cards And ole Stagger Lee Crocket had a gun in his pocket, was sweatin bettin hard And over in the corner this Mexican guy with two gold teeth and a patch on his eye Took a long hard look around And then the door flew open, the stranger walked in and said don't ya'll get excited I know this here's a private game, and I know I wasn't invited But I got a roll that'd choke a mule I'm just about a big enough fool to lay it all right down And everybody nodded as the stranger took his seat He knew this bunch of cutthroat's would be mighty hard to beat As the stranger knew then the toughest two by far were where he sat Was a pot belly fellow from south Alabama, and a dude in a black felt hat [Chorus] [Verse 2] Well clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin Take this stranger on to Santa Fe It seems like romance and danger Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way Well the stranger sat down he looked around at all them evil faces And the pot-belly fellow drew a pair of queens, but the stranger he drew aces And he kept on raising and pushin his luck, kept on winning like a run away truck He was giving them a beating And the stakes got higher than a Chinese kite, the stranger kept getting hot Till every cent everybody had was lying out in that pot Then the stranger threw down a royal flush Somebody said "Hey Man, that's enough friend I think you've been cheating" And then the stranger picked the money up and said "Boys I better run" And then the bot-bellyed fella pulled a razor out and somebody pulled a gun They said "You may think you're a sly old fox You're gonna leave here in a long pine box If you don't leave that money alone" Just about then the lights went out, and they all started fussing And the lights came on, the stranger was gone, they all started cussin And they searched that train from front to rear The stranger he done disappeared, and all their money was gone When the train pulled in the station, with the whistle blowing loud A telegram was waitin, from the stranger for the crowd Said "Thank you for the money boys, but don't feel too outdone Cause It takes a dog to know a dog I'm a howlin son of a gun." [Chorus] [Outro] Well clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin Take this stranger on to Santa Fe It seems like romance and danger Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way