Frank Proffitt's "Ruben Train"

Oh, Reuben's coming down the track,

And he's got his throttle back,

And the rails are a-carrying him from home.

If the boiler don't bust

'Cause it's eat up with rust,

I'll soon be a long ways from home.

If you don't believe I'm gone,

Look at the train I'm on;

You can hear the whistle blow a thousand miles.

I'm a-going down the track;

I ain't never coming back,

And I'll never get no letter from my home.

Well, the train run so fast

Till I knowed it couldn't last,

For the wheels was a-burning up the rail.

Old Reuben had a wreck

And it broke old Reuben's neck,

And it never hurt a hair on my head.

Now I'm walking up the track,

Hoping I'll get back;

I'm a thousand miles away from home.

If I ever get back to you,

You can beat me black and blue,

For I'll never leave my shanty home.