This is so Atlanta special here.
Running all down through Georgia,
all down through the South,
all through the Gulf of Mexico.
When I was a little boy,
I was starting to catch this train out there,
I forget now, 15 years old.
I hear that train that morning,
at 8.45, I was hitting that rail.
I had my mule going to the field to
do some flying for my old grandfather.
But when the train was coming down the line,
she picked up to me.
I said, whoa.
My mule stopped.
I said, I believe I'll try the world.
I eased on out there,
and I caught the old freight train,
and went on down,
all down
to the Gulf of Mexico,
and everywhere else.
I got to thinking about Atlanta, Georgia.
I said,
I believe I'll go back with my old grandfather in the back.
One night, I was
sitting down boiling some corn down on the railroad track.
I thought about what
my old grandmother told me years ago.
She said, son,
you got to reap what you sow.
If you
don't be a good boy, you're gonna have bad luck.
I made me a record there, I found.
This is for Atlanta, Georgia.
This song.
I'm sorry,
sorry, I'm sorry I left my home.
La,
la, la.
When I fell back in Atlanta, Georgia,
old lady, little ass name, Miss Dista,
she said, son,
I heard one of your records about Atlanta,
Georgia.
Can you play it now?
I rest back in my guitar case and pull up old raggedy guitar.
So glad to get back home.
I come up to play this song for Aunt Easter.
La,
la, la, la.
So glad I headed back home.
Old lady used to ask me did I want anything to eat?
I was sitting there looking out toward the railroad track.
I'll never forget it.
She brought me ham and egg and toasted cheese
and a hot cup of coffee.
When that straight line came by to go on into,
I dropped my head and I dropped my food.
I said, I got to ride the straight line.
She said, son, what is wrong?
I said, well, Aunt Easter.
I said, Booker got to go.
I said,
well,
I'll tell you,
I used to hear the bell on this train.
I can tell you more
about it.
When that train dropped in that 15 mile cut,
the bell would give me a tone like this.
Made me thought about when my baby got sick and she died.
They called me up.
She was running that 15 mile cut,
she told her to have a break for that 10 mile.
So
she asked me,
she said,
why you was bowing there?
I said, because I was charging.
She said,
that's why you complain I won't get there and get you.
While we was talking,
she heard that train coming in that 15 mile cut.
Two old ladies on that train crying and
someone was pulling down the blind and
man getting sick from the engine to the coach to slow down.
You hear them choking that train,
especially now coming through Louisiana like that.
When the man throw that red light on,
you hear him shout,
dog,
it's coming down 15 mile cut.
I used to go out there to the station,
I told Aunt Easter, I was thanking for her food.
She said,
son,
don't forget what your mother and I used to tell you.
She said, take life easy.
I jumped on out there and got in the blind,
that train jumped on out of town.
I was steady jumping down to Georgia, Louisiana.
Got on down to a place called Pooletite.
That's in Louisiana.
They was stripping sorghum and everything out of that gut hole.
I jumped off the freight train for a job,
asked the man for me something to eat.
He said, can you strip sorghum?
I said,
I read about it,
but I ain't never did it.
He said,
if you eat anything,
you're going to strip it.
I decided to do a little piece of work for him.
He went in there and got me sorghum,
molasses,
cornbread,
toasted cheese, and a cup of coffee.
My chain was in the yard.
The chain was broken.
When I hear that chain broke,
I said,
I'm fixing to start
just stripping it.
She struck out.