It was early in the fall and a-blowin' up a squall
From the trestle you could hear the weirdest moans
With a mighty lonesome cry came a whistle from the sky
And it chilled the very marrow in my bones
Then a loud, rushing roar, like you never heard before
Turned the blood to icy water in my veins
As I watched with rising fear, something strange was drawing near
And I saw in the clouds ghost trains

Ghost trains, ghost trains, what a fearful sight
The Cannonball and Number Nine were racing thru the night
Just as they passed me by, I heard the engineer cry
Give her coal, give her coal, shovel it on
You could see the fireman grinnin', in the engine that was winnin'
But I knew before the finish they'd be gone
But he knew before the finish they'd be gone

You could see the driver's roll as they shoveled on the coal
And the black smoke came pouring from the stacks
As they thundered thru the sky, I am here to testify
You could hear the wheels a-clickin' on the tracks
Thru the smoke and the steam, you could see the headlights gleam
Now I have no proof, but still the fact remains
You may doubt it, but I swear, there were cinders in my hair
When I saw in the clouds ghost trains

Ghost trains, ghost trains, what a fearful sight
The Cannonball and Number Nine were racing thru the night
Just as they passed me by, I heard the engineer cry
Give her coal, give her coal, shovel it on
You could see the fireman grinnin', in the engine that was winnin'
As I watched I saw them fade into the dawn
As he watched he saw them fade into the dawn