Way up in the evening, down in Mobile, Alabama (note 1)
Working on the railroad with a steel driving hammer
Got to make some money, buy some brand new shoes
Try to find somebody take away these blues
She don't love me here, I'm singing in the sun
Payday's coming and my work is all done (note 2)
Early in the evening when the sun is sinking low (note 3)
All day I've been waiting for the whistle to blow
Sitting in a tee-pee built right on the track (note 4)
Rolling them bones 'till the foreman come back
Pick up your belongings boys and scatter about
We got an off scheduled train coming two miles out
Everybody's scrambling and running around (note 5)
Picking up the money, tear the teep-pee down
Foreman was in panic, 'bout to go insane
Trying to get the workers out the way of the train
Engineer blowing the whistle loud and long (note 6)