Hobo Bill's Last Ride Lyrics - Okie From Muskogee - Merle Haggard

Ho-bo Bill-Y 

Riding on that eastbound freight train speeding through the night 

Hobo Bill a railroad bum was fighting for his life 

The sadness of his eyes revealed the torture of his soul 

He raised a weak and weary hand to brush away the cold 

Ho-bo Bill 

No warm lights flickered round him no blankets there to hold 

Nothing but the howling wind and the driving rain so cold 

When he heard a whistle blowing in a dreamy kind of way 

The hobo seemed contented for he smiled there where he lay 

Ho-bo Bill 

Outside the rain was falling on that lonely boxcar door 

But the little form of Hobo Bill lay still upon the floor 

While the train sped through the darkness and the raging storm outside 

No one knew that Hobo Bill was taking his last ride 

It was early in the morning when they raised the hobo's head 

The smile still lingered on his face but Hobo Bill was dead 

There was no mother's longing to soothe his weary soul 

For he was just a railroad bum who died out in the cold