Fare Thee Well, Cisco: Lyrics

Tom Paxton

While walking through the railroad yard
On a cold and a rainy night,
I saw a string of old boxcars
As it pulled out of sight.
I heard the whistle blowing
Just as sad as anything.
And it made me think of Cisco,
And the songs he used to sing.

   Chorus:
   Fare thee well, Cisco.
   Fare thee well.
   Here for just a while,
   Gone a many a mile.
   Fare thee well, Cisco.
   Fare thee well.

He walked down every highway
In this great and mighty land.
He sang the songs of what he saw,
He sang for every man.
He had no truck with nonsense,
He sang 'em straight and plain.
He got his greatest music
From the whistle of a train.

   Chorus:

Well I dreamed that me and Cisco,
we were standing in some town.
The good clean air was in our lungs
And the sun was a-shining down.
He said "This land has lots of room,
It stretches far and wide.
There's a lonesome freight at six-o-eight,
Let's grab that train and ride."

   Chorus:

Well, he rambled 'round with Woody
Just to see what he could see.
And when the Fascist tide was high
He rambled out to sea.
And every where he rambled,
He made friends of many men.
And Cisco's friends can tell us
We won't see his kind again.

Chorus:
Fare thee well, Cisco. Fare thee well.

Of note:

Appears on Tom's first LP, Ramblin' Boy (1964) and re-released on CD paired with Aint' That News, but inexplicably left off Tom's Greatest Hits collections.

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