This song is about the tragedy of New Orleans what the Arlo Guthrie's heroic effort to help out.
Folksinger/songwriter/poet
I'm a singer/songwriter who enjoys covering a good song regardless of where it's been.
Story behind the song
Rather than tell a story I'll pass along a note I got from Arlo Guthrie. You'll get the idea.
"When I think of New Orleans, I think of music. I also think of food, but that's another story. The City of New Orleans is America's first music city. New Orleans is the city that truly began America's contribution to the history of music world-wide. Without it, there'd be no popular music as we know it today.
When I wonder what they might need in New Orleans to get back on their feet, the stuff that gets ruined under water, I think of all the sound boards, the cables, the lighting, the microphones, the instruments; I think of the stuff you need in the hundreds of little clubs and bars that bring the music to the street - the street that brings the people to the city. And I think of the many thousands of people who depend on those people for their livelihoods.
I am determined to help restore all of those little places and bring the music back as soon as possible. I am contacting Amtrak to help us take the train "The City of New Orleans" from Chicago all the way down to New Orleans. We'll take two weeks beginning in early December and stop along the way at depots or high schools or performance centers of all shapes and sizes. And we'll contact the manufacturers of the very stuff we're talking about and arrange to bring a Christmas present to all the small venues within the city - we'll purchase the gear as close to cost as we can, many will undoubtedly make substantial contributions.
Will you help me bring the music back? Working together with our friends in manufacturing, retail, transportation, the venues, the promoters, the press, the agents and managers and the artists - we can help deliver the stuff that helps make New Orleans sing it's own uniquely American song. I'm going anyway - with or without waiting to see who's onboard. Join us on the train, at the depot, from your office or home, but join us.
For info call my office: Rising Son Records, 10741 US Highway 1, Sebastian, FL 32958. (772) 589 1774 or eMail train2NO@risingson.com Love as always, Arlo Guthrie"
Lyrics
New Orleans, don't you know,
it got flooded when that hurricane blowed.
Yes, Katrina, that was her name.
What she did to New Orleans was just a shame.
You can't count on the President,
the legislature, or the cabinet
'cause when it flooded the people were all alone.
Folks went hungry just like a dog without a bone.
Give your money and your time.
Give your talents like I'm giving mine
to New Orleans, land of the Mardi Gras.
You know they need it down in Louisianna.
Give your dollars and your dimes.
Help the Red Cross get there in time
to help the people of New Orleans.
The hurricane season can still can get real mean.
I hear Arlo call my name
"come on boy and jump on this train
to New Orleans. That's where we're gonna go.
And you can play your guitar adn be a part of the show!"
