I had to quit railroadin' We didn't agree at all There was always something wrong With the Southern Cannonball I once loved a maiden She was fair and tall Her pa he was the engineer On the Southern Cannonball Break (fiddle) She promised she would wed me In the merry month of June And go to the magic island To spend our honeymoon At last my dreams were shattered When she put me off of with a stall She said the whistle was broken on The Southern Cannonball Break (guitar) I loved this girl sincerely
So I fixed the whistle back The next thing she told me was The caboose is off of the track But days and nights I labored To get it back with the train All was ready for the highball When the bell refused to ring Break (guitar) I fixed the bell in a jiffy And I called for Preacher Dunn Who married us in the old boxcar For the train refused to run We made our home in a boomer shack Out under the southern sky And we rocked the baby to sleep each night By a train whistle lullaby