A respectful correction (or difference of opinion): According to the Library of Congress liner notes compiled by the Lomaxes, and my own ears, the fourth line of the chorus should read "If you want to ride it, gotta ride it like you find it." I have no problem with anthropomorphizing the train route as her instead of it, but to say "ride her like your flyin'" suggests you better be fast if you want to get away, while ride her (or it) like you find her (ditto) suggests the next line more perfectly ("Get your ticket at the station on the Rock Island Line"). I know this is nitpicking - the important thing is that we keep the music alive - so I hope Gone Jackal will understand that my thanks to him for creating this node in the first place outweighs my small criticism a thousandfold.