Orange Blossom Special Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Look a-yonder comin'
Comin' down that railroad track
Hey, look a-yonder comin'
Comin' down that railroad track
It's the Orange Blossom Special
Bringin' my baby back


[Verse 2]
Well, I'm going down to Florida
And get some sand in my shoes
Or maybe Californy
And get some sand in my shoes
I'll ride that Orange Blossom Special
And lose these New York blues

[Interlude]
"Say man, when you going back to Florida?"
"When am I goin' back to Florida? I don't know, don't reckon I ever will."
"Ain't you worried about getting your nourishment in New York?"
"Well, I don't care if I do-die-do-die-do-die-do-die."

[Verse 3]
Hey talk about a-ramblin'
She's the fastest train on the line
Talk about a-travellin'
She's the fastest train on the line
It's that Orange Blossom Special
Rollin' down the seaboard line

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About

Genius Annotation

“Orange Blossom Special” is a standard bluegrass song written in 1938 by Ervin T. Rouse & Gordon Rouse, about the passenger train of the same name. It’s so famous in bluegrass circles that it’s often referred to as the “Fiddle Players' National Anthem.” Indeed, there was once a campaign to make it the Florida State Song!

Johnny Cash named his 1965 album after the song and opened the album with it. While bluegrass performers tend to play it as strictly an instrumental, Cash sang the lyrics, and (some would say, blasphemously) replaced the fiddle parts with two harmonicas.

You can read more about the Rouse brothers and their amazing song in the book Orange Blossom Boys by Randy Noles. The book devotes an entire chapter to Cash’s album, and claims that by covering the song, Cash did much to bridge the gap between country music and folk.

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