Queen of the Rails

I guess his name was Boomer Bill
If that won't do another will
A hobo doesn't need a name
'Cause he never gets no mail
The only friend old Boomer had
To ride with him through good and bad
Was a shaggy little mongrel he called
Queen of the Rails

The black smoke choo choo's gone away
Bummin' it's just not the same
Dreams are few and far between
But memories seldom fail
Waiting down there by the track
For her master to come back
You can count on seeing that old dog
Called Queen of the Rails

Old Boomer bummed the Rio Grande
The Santa Fe and never planned
On where he'd be from day to day
The jungle or the jail
But when the snow was falling down
He'd catch a California bound
With that little dog to keep him warm
Old Queen of the Rails

The black smoke choo choo's gone away
Bummin' it's just not the same
Dreams are few and far between
But memories seldom fail
Waiting down there by the track
For her master to come back
You can count on seeing that old dog
Old Queen of the Rails

One day he went to get a bone
Left his little pal alone
He crossed the coupling joints of a train
That blocked the yard
They switched a reefer off the main
And humped it into Boomer's train
He fell and died beneath the iron wheels
So cold and hard

The black smoke choo choo's gone away
Bummin' it's just not the same
Dreams are few and far between
But memories seldom fail
If there's a place for some old friend
Who waits until the journey's end
To Boomer he'll be glad to see
Old Queen of the Rails