"City of New Orleans" is a country folk song written by Steve Goodman (and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans on the Illinois Central Railroad's City of New Orleans in bittersweet and nostalgic terms.

Goodman got the idea while traveling on the Illinois Central line for a visit to his wife's family. The song has been recorded by numerous artists in the United States, including two major hit versions: first by Arlo Guthrie in 1972, and later by Willie Nelson in 1984. Goodman posthumously won the songwriting Grammy Award for Nelson's version. In Europe, his melody has most often been used with original foreign language lyrics, rather than translations of Goodman's lyrics.

An article in the September 2017 issue of Trains magazine chronicles the writing and recording of the song and includes a biographical sketch of Steve Goodman. In June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.

Arlo Guthrie version

While at the bar of the Quiet Knight in Chicago, Goodman saw Arlo Guthrie, and asked to be allowed to play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed, on the condition that if Goodman bought him a beer, Guthrie would listen to him play for as long as it took to drink the beer. Goodman played "City of New Orleans", which Guthrie liked enough that he asked to record it. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo's Lullaby, reaching Number 4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and Number 18 on the Hot 100; it would prove to be Guthrie's only top-40 hit and one of only two he would have on the Hot 100 (the other was a severely shortened and rearranged version of his magnum opus, "Alice's Restaurant", which hit Number 97). In New Zealand, "City of New Orleans" spent two weeks at number one, charting throughout the winter of 1973.

In December 2005, sparked by the news the train was back in service after Hurricane Katrina, the Arlo Guthrie and Friends tour traveled by the train itself in a benefit concert tour to aid musicians who lost everything in the hurricane.

Guthrie's version of "The City of New Orleans" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017. Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1972–1973)PeakpositionCanada RPM Top Singles11Canada RPM Adult Contemporary14New Zealand (Listener)1U.S. Billboard Easy Listening4Australia (Kent Music Report)58

Year-end charts Chart (1972)RankU.S. Billboard Hot 10045

Willie Nelson version

Steve Goodman won a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for Willie Nelson's version, which was included as the title track on Nelson's 1984 album City of New Orleans. It reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the United States and the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.

Chart performance Chart (1984)PeakpositionCanadian RPM Country Tracks1Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks5

Foreign-language versions French version

Also in 1972, the song was adapted into the French language as "Salut les amoureux" (translation: "Hi, lovebirds") by Claude Lemesle and Richelle Dassin and performed by the latter's brother, American singer Joe Dassin, appearing on his album Joe and released as a single the following year in 1973, backed by another track from the album, "S'aimer sous la pluie" (which Dassin co-wrote with Pierre Delanoë, meaning "Loving each other in the rain"). Dassin sings the last line of the chorus a fourth lower than the original on a conventional IV-V-I chord progression. The single was a success, peaking at Number 8 in France and Number 12 in Wallonia (French Belgium), selling over 200,000 copies. It is not a direct translation of the original, addressing the end of a short relationship, of which Lemesle took inspiration from his breakup with fellow French singer Valentine "Vava" Saint-Jean.

Charts Chart (1973) PeakpositionFrance (SNEP)8Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)12 Dutch version

Also in 1973, Dutch singer and CBS Records labelmate Gerard Cox released a Dutch-language cover entitled "'t Is weer voorbij die mooie zomer" (translation: "That beautiful summer is over again") as a non-album single. The single was a Top 10 hit in the Dutchophone markets, reaching Number 1 in the Netherlands and Number 2 in Flanders (Dutch Belgium). The Dutch lyrics are not about a train or a short relationship, but are a look back on the warm days of summer. Cox based his version on the French version, Salut les amoureux by Dassin, which he had heard while on vacation at a nightclub in France. Yet, the Dutch lyrics are again very different from both the English and the French versions. The single's B-side, "Zullen we ritselen?" (translation: "Shall we sort something out?"), composed by Rogier van Otterloo, was previously featured on Cox's 1972 album Vrijblijvend... (translation: No-obligation...). Cox's version has also been parodied by Sports journalists Wilfred Genee and Johan Derksen in 2012 as "Nederland is helemaal oranje" (translation: "The Netherlands is completely orange"), a song about the Netherlands national football team written and produced by Ferdi Bolland and recorded specially for that year's UEFA Euro, which was released as a non-album single, peaking at Number 4 on the Single Top 100 and selling over 25,000 copies.

Charts Chart (1973–1974) PeakpositionNetherlands (Single Top 100)1Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)2 Chart (2012)PeakpositionNetherlands (Single Top 100)4

German version

In 1975, Dutch singer Rudi Carrell released a German-language cover with lyrics by producer Thomas Woitkewitsch. The lyrics were based on the Dutch version (see above) by Gerard Cox. The lead single off of Carrell's 1975 self-titled album, "Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?" (translation: "When will it finally be a real summer again?"), stayed on the West German record charts for 14 weeks, peaking at Number 18. This version has since been widely covered in the Germanophone market, spawning a German Top-40 recording by Creme 21 (as a tribute to Carrell) in 1996. Creme 21, a pop rock band from Frankfurt am Main, recorded a version, using Woitkewitsch's German lyrics, appearing on re-issues of the band's 1995 self-titled debut studio album ( 30% Mehr, meaning 30% More). The cover spent 12 weeks on the German record charts, peaking at Number 36. It was accompanied by a music video, directed by Andreas Kidess, paying tribute to Carrell, the original performer of the adaptation, who makes a cameo in the video, also featuring footage of old Rudi Carrell shows. Creme 21 also promoted their version with a performance on Die Harald Schmidt Show.

Charts Chart (1975)PeakpositionWest Germany (GfK)18 Chart (1996)PeakpositionGermany (GfK)36

Other notable versions In September 2005, Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band closed their Labor Day weekend performance at Wrigley Field with the song; Buffett referenced the ongoing impact of Hurricane Katrina and dedicated the song to the people of New Orleans and the wider Gulf Coast region. In May 2006, Buffett opened his set with the song at the first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival following Hurricane Katrina. Former Bro'Sis member Indira Weis covered the German adaptation, Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer? (see above), as her debut solo single, which was released in September 2009, covering the song as a fan of Carrell's and in irony of her experiences that summer, as well as promoting and performing it at that year's Oktoberfest with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel present. Despite heavy publicity, Weis' version failed to chart.

See also List of train songs List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States Mentioned in the song Mail car Kankakee, Illinois Club car Pullman porter Memphis, Tennessee "Passengers will please refrain"

References

External links

Classic Tracks: Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans" "Derailing ‘City of New Orleans’" (Chicago Sun-Times, Nov 19, 2007) - Regarding John Denver's version and Arlo Guthrie's objections to it