City of New Orleans (song)

"The City of New Orleans"
Single by Arlo Guthrie
from the album Hobo's Lullaby
B-side	"Days Are Short"
Released	July 1972
Recorded	1972
Genre	Folk
Length	4:31
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Steve Goodman
Producer(s)	Lenny Waronker, John Pilla

While at the Quiet Knight bar in Chicago, Goodman saw Arlo Guthrie, and asked to be allowed to play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed, on the condition that if Goodman bought him a beer, Guthrie would listen to him play for as long as it took to drink the beer.[2] Goodman played "City of New Orleans", which Guthrie liked enough that he asked to record it. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo's Lullaby, reaching #4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and #18 on the Hot 100 chart; it would prove to be Guthrie's only top-40 hit and one of only two he would have on the Hot 100 (the other was a severely shortened and rearranged version of his magnum opus "Alice's Restaurant", which hit #97).

In 1973, Dutch singer Gerard Cox released a Dutch-language cover entitled "'t Is weer voorbij die mooie zomer" ("It's Over Again, That Beautiful Sommer"). The single reached #1 and #2 on the Dutch and Belgian record charts, respectively.

"Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?"
Single by Rudi Carrell
B-side	"Heul nicht"
Released	1975
Genre	Pop
Length	4:20
Label	Ariola
Composer(s)	Steve Goodman
Lyricist(s)	Thomas Woitkewitsch
Producer(s)	Thomas Woitkewitsch

In 1975, Dutch singer Rudi Carrell released a German-language cover with lyrics by producer Thomas Woitkewitsch. The single, "Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?" ("When Will There be a Proper Summer Again?"), stayed on the German record charts for 14 weeks, peaking at #18. This version has been widely covered, spawning German Top-40 recordings by Creme 21 and Indira Weis.[8]

Steve Goodman won a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for Willie Nelson's version, which was included on Nelson's 1984 album City of New Orleans. It reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the United States[9] and the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.

"Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?"
Single by Creme 21
B-side	"Ich kann mich nicht entscheiden" "Ich will auch mit (in den Übungsraum)"
Released	1996
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:24
Label	Epic Records
Composer(s)	Steve Goodman
Lyricist(s)	Thomas Woitkewitsch
Producer(s)	Jeo

Creme 21, a pop band from Frankfurt am Main, recorded a version using Thomas Woitkewitsch's German lyrics. The cover spent 12 weeks on the German record charts, peaking at #36.[8]

"Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?"
Single by Indira
Released	September 4, 2009
Recorded	2009
Genre	Pop
Length	23:30
Label	UCA
Composer(s)	Steve Goodman
Lyricist(s)	Thomas Woitkewitsch
Producer(s)	Andreas Habermeyer Ulrich Fischer Harald Reitinger for Beat Power Music
Music video
"Wann wird’s mal wieder richtig Sommer?" on YouTube

"Wann wird’s mal wieder richtig Sommer?" (German: When will there be a proper summer again?) is the first single of Indira Weis, who got famous in the German multicultural R&B group Bro'Sis. Together with the movie producer Andreas Habermeyer she covered the hit from Rudi Carrell for the Oktoberfest 2009 in Munich. The EP was released September 4, 2009.

The original music video for "Wann wird’s mal wieder richtig Sommer?" was directed and produced in Berlin, August 2009. The video premiered September 4, 2009.[12]

Indira performed the song the first time in front of the Rotes Rathaus in Berlin September 9, 2009.[13]

• The original English version has been widely covered, including by John Denver (in 1971), The Seldom Scene (in 1972), Johnny Cash (in 1973), and Judy Collins (in 1975).
• German lyrics have been written for Goodman's original melody at least three times. The first of these was Austrian singer Jonny Hill's version, released in 1973 as "Ein Zug genannt City of New Orleans". A second set of German-language lyrics, closely following Cox's Dutch version, was used in a 1974 release by Ronny, "Einmal vergeht der schönste Sommer". Thomas Woitkewitsch's 1975 lyrics have been used by a number of artists, including Rudi Carrell in 1973, Creme 21 in 1996, and Indira Weis in 2009 (for all of which see above),[8] as well as by Dieter Thomas Kuhn in 1995,[8] Die Lollipops in 2001, and Leonard in 2012.
• In 1972, American singer Joe Dassin recorded a French version, "Salut les Amoureux" (Hello Lovers),[14] re-using the melody but changing the lyrics completely. Dassin sings the last line of the chorus a fourth lower than the original on a conventional IV-V-I chord progression. Damien Poyard recorded this version on his 2015 CD "Un parfum de folie" (A scent of madness). Canadian Roch Voisine recorded an English/French version which appears his album Americana.
• Gerard Cox's Dutch version has been parodied a number of times, including by Cox himself in 1973 and by Farce Majeure in 1986 (both times as "'t Is weer voorbij die mooie winter"), and by Wilfred Genee and Johan Derksen in 2012 (as "Nederland is helemaal oranje", a song about the Netherlands national football team recorded specially for UEFA Euro 2012). Cox's version has also seen a number of straight covers, including a 2019 version by Dries Roelvink and a 2020 single by Harten.
• Yoram Gaon recorded a Hebrew version in the seventies called "Hello Wonderful Country" (שלום לך ארץ נהדרת). The lyrics, written by Ilan Goldhirsch, describe the beauty of Israel.
• Juha Vainio wrote Finnish lyrics under the title "Hyvää huomenta Suomi" ("Good morning Finland"), which was a domestic hit for the band Karma in 1976 and Matti Esko in 1989. The lyrics describe a semi-trailer truck driver moving cargo over night to his destination.
• Norwegian folk singer Øystein Sunde recorded a version, entitled "Liten Og Grønn" ("Tiny and Green") for his 1981 album Barkebille Boogie. The song is about the life of a Widerøe Twin Otter airplane.
• Čikāgas piecīši recorded a Latvian version, "Pazudušais dēls".
• Icelandic singer Björgvin Halldórsson recorded a version with his band Brimkló for the 1976 album Rock 'n' roll, öll mín bestu ár. The Icelandic lyrics, "Síðasta sjóferðin", were written by Þorsteinn Eggertsson.
• A Slovenian versin is covered by music artist Tomaž Domicelj. The song, "Vlak na jug" ("Southbound Train"), was released on the 1979 album 48.

• List of train songs
• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

• Original lyrics at the Wayback Machine (archived October 20, 2006)
• Arlo Guthrie cover lyric version at the Wayback Machine (archived November 21, 2006)
• Classic Tracks: Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans"