On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe (Sheet music version & movie lyrics)

Written for: The Harvey Girls (1946)
English lyric: Johnny Mercer
French lyric: Jacques Plante
German lyric: Knud Schwielow
Additional movie lyrics: Kay Thompson & Ralph Blane
Music: Harry Warren
Year: 1945
Original publisher: Leo Feist, Inc.

Sheet music version:

English lyric:

Chorus:

Do yuh hear that whistle down the line?
I figure that it's engine number Forty-nine;
She's the only one that'll sound that way.
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.
See the ol' smoke risin' 'round the bend?
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend;
Folks around these parts get the time o' day
From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.
Here she comes!
Ooh, ooh, ooh,
Hey, Jim, yuh better git the rig!
Ooh, ooh, ooh,
She's got a list o' passengers that's pretty big.
And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel,
'Cause lots o' them been travelin' for quite a spell;
All the way from Philadelphiay,
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.

French lyric:

"Le Petit Train Du Far-West"

Chorus 1:

Regardez venir à tout'vitesse,
Le petit train qui fait le circuit du Far-West;
A coups de sifflet joyeux il s'en va
Du Texas par l'Orégon jusqu'en Arizona!
Tous les voyageurs sont déjà prêts,
Car on le sait exact à duex ou trois jours près.
Il emporte Indiens, trappeurs et gauchos,
De l'Utah par le Kansas jusqu'au Colorado!
Le voilà!
Ouh, ouh, ouh!
Mais qu'est ce donc qu'on aperçoit?
Ouh, ouh, ouh!
La vache au vieux Jimmy qu'est couchée sur la voie.
On s'arrête pour souffler un peu
Chacun dans le wagon se hisse comme il peut.
Et puis l'on repart cahincaha,
Du Texas par l'Orégon jusqu'en Arizona!

Chorus 2:

C'n'est pas un rapid' ni un express,
Le petit train qui fait le circuit du Far-West;
Il préfère flâner deci delà
Du Texas par l'Orégon jusqu'en Arizona!
Mais comm' l'un sur l'autre ils sont tassés
Garçons et jeunes filles ne sont pas pressés.
Il se forme ainsi de gentils duos,
De l'Utah par le Kansas jusqu'au Colorado!
Le voilà!
Ouh, ouh, ouh!
Les demoisell's font les yeux doux.
Ouh, ouh, ouh!
Les jeunes gens les prenn'nt alors sur leurs genoux.
Je parie un gin contre un Vittel
Qu'ils vont en arrivant descendre au même hôtel.
Tous ceux dont le cœur s'abandonna,
Du Texas par l'Orégon jusqu'en Arizona!

German lyric:

"Zwishchen, Buxtehude Und Berlin"

Chorus:

Fährst du manchmal mit der Eisenbahn,
Begegnet dir vielleicht auch mal de alte Jan.
Denn es geht ja garnicht ohne ihn
Auf der Strekke zwishchen Buxtehude und Berlin.
Oh, er kennt die Linie ganz genau,
Viel länger und viel enger als die eigne Frau.
Und in jeder Kurve da hört man ihn,
Auf der Strekke zwishchen Buxtehude und Berlin.
Hört mal zu:
Uuh, uuh, uuh!
Hört zu, jawohl, da kommt er schon!
Uuh, uuh, uuh!
Ich kenne ihn sofort beim allerersten Ton.
Denn so pfeift doch nur der alte Jan,
Der beste Heizer auf der Bundeseisenbahn.
Und am Bahnsteig sieben da grüß ich ihn,
Fährt er wieder mal von Buxtehude nach Berlin.

Movie version:

Chorus 1:

(John Henry:) Do you hear that whistle down the line?
I figure that it's engine number Forty-nine;
She's the only one that'll sound that way.
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.
See the ol' smoke risin' 'round the bend?
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend;
Folks around these parts get the time o' day
From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.
(New man:) Here she comes!
(Three men:) Ooh, ooh, ooh,
(Another man:) Hey, Jim, you better get the rig!
(Three men:) Ooh, ooh, ooh,
(Solo:) She's got a list o' passengers that's pretty big.
(Solo:) And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel,
(Two men:) 'Cause lots o' them been travelin' fer quite a spell;
(Three men:) All the way from Philadelphiay,
On the Atchison, Topeka.

[Together]
(Three men:) On the ...
(Alto girls:) Choo-choo-choo, oh, choo-choo...
(Bass men:) Chug-chug-chug...

[Together]
(Three men:) Atchison, Topeka...
(Alto girls:) Choo, oh, choo-choo-choo, oh, choo-choo...
(Bass men:) Chug-chug-chug, chuggie, chug...

[Together]
(Sopranos & tenors:) On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa
(Alto girls:) Choo, oh, choo-choo-choo, oh, choo-choo-choo.
(Bass men:) Chug-chug-chug-chug-chug, chug-chug, chuggie, chug.

[Together]
(Sopranos & tenors:) Fe...
(Alto girls:) Doodle, doodle, doodle, doodle, doodle, doodle, doo-ee.
(Bass men:) Choo-chug, choo-chug, choo-chug, choo-chug.

(Entire chorus:) Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.

[Together, men start, women answer]
(Men:) Ooh, ooh, ooh.
(Women:) Ooh, ooh, ooh.

Chorus 2:

(Engineer:) Oh, the roads back East are mighty swell,
The Chesapeake, Ohio and the A. S. L.;
But I make my run and I make my pay,
(Fireman & engineer:) On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.
(Marjorie Main:) Goin' back 'n forth along these aisles,
My lands, you must'a walked about a million miles;
(Chorus:) It's a treat to be on your feet all day
(Chorus and conductor:) On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.

(Virginia O'Brien:) Here we come!
(All boys:) Here she comes, comin' down the line.

[Together]
(O'Brien:) Raa-du-raa, du-raa, du-ra-ra-raa.
(All boys:) On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe!

[Together]
(O'Brien:) She's really racin' down the line.
(All boys:) Choo-choo-choo, choo-choo-choo, Santa Fe!

[Together]
(O'Brien:) Looky, looky, looky, looky look!
(Men:) Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe!

(O'Brien:) Oh, boy, we're huffin' an' a-puffin' on the Forty-nine!

(Girls:) In this day and age, girls don't leave home,
But if ya get a hankerin' you wanna roam,
Our advice to you is run away
On the Atchison, Topeka an' the Santa Fe!

Interlude 1:

INSTRUMENTAL

Interlude 2:

(Boys:) Faith and didja ever see such purty femininity
Arrivin' all at once in this h'yere town?
In this h'yere town?
Never seen the likes o' this for miles aroun'.
(Girls:) Round and round our heads are spinning,
New adventures are beginning.
(Boys:) What a length a gal'll go
In Tarfety 'n Calico;
To really put a cowboy on the bosh!
Cowboy!
(Girls:) Cowboy!
(Boys:) Kibosh!
(Girls:) Kibosh!
(Boys:) It's enough to make a feller want to...
(Boys & girls:) Wash...
(Girls:) ...your face and hands, we hope
You'll never be afraid of soap.
(1st & 2nd boys:) Button shoes and powdered chalk,
An' fancy smells and baby talk;
Hit's awful what a gal'll stoop ta do!
(3rd & 4th boys:) Even so, we aim to say,
We'd love to honor and obey, Bee!
Are there any more at home like you?
(Spoken:) Wa-hoo!
(Boys:) Hand me my hair-comb and my stickum,
Gonna get spruced up and out-trick 'em;
Put on the dog and out-city slick 'em.
Sick 'em, Harvey, Mister Harvey,
Fred Harvey knows exactly how to pick 'em.

(1st girl:) I come from Dubuque, I-oway,
That's where the tall, tall, tall corn grows;
(2nd girl:) I come from Lousiana
Where the Miss-iss-iss-iss-ippi flows.
(3rd girl:) I was the Lillian Russell of Cherryville, Kansas,
But I gave my acting a pitch.
(4th girl:) I was a seamstress in Gary, Indiana,
I'd rather play piano, and never sew a stitch.
(O'Brien:) I'm from Chillicothee,
(Men:) Ohio!
(O'Brien:) My middle name's Hiawathy,
(Men:) Ohio!
I'm gonna get the gold in them thar hills,
So, I said goodbye-o, Ohio.
(Two girls:) We were schoolmarms from Grand Rapids, Mich,
Readin', writin', 'rithmetic were not our dish.
(5th solo girl:) I was born in Paris,
I was raised in Paris,
Went to school in Paris,
Where I met a boy.
I was married in Paris,
Almost buried in Paris,
Then I finally left Paris...
(Others:) Paris, Illinois!
(Ray Bolger:) So, this is the wild and the wooly West,
Give me my chaps and my checker'd vest!
Get me a gun and a holster for my hip,
(Others:) Bang, bang!
(Bolger, spoken:) Yip, yip!

(Judy Garland:) What a lovely trip,
I'm feeling so fresh and alive;
And I'm so glad to arrive,
It's all so grand.
It's easy to see,
You don't need a palace,
To feel like Alice
In Wonderland.

Chorus 3:

(Garland:) Back in Ohio, where I come from,
I've done a lot of dreamin' and I've travell'd some;
But I never thought I'd see the day

[Together]
(Garland:) When I ever took a ride on the Santa Fe.
(Boys & girls:) Ooh, ooh, ooh, Santa Fe!

(Boys & girls:) Wanna take a ride on the Santa Fe!

(Garland:) I would lean across my window sill,
And hear the whistle echoing across the hill;

(Garland:) Then I'd watch the lights till they'd fade away,
(Girls join and hum)
(Garland:) On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.

[Together]
(Garland:) What a thrill!
(Boys:) What a great big wonderful thrill.

(Garland:) With the wheels a-singin' Westward Ho!
Right from the day I heard them start.

[Together]
(Tenors, add basses:) I heard the wheels a-singin (hum)
(Garland:) 'Cross the Kansas plains through New Mexico,

(Chorus continues to hum)
(Garland:) I guess I got a little gypsy in my heart.
When I'm old and gray and settled down,
And if I ever get a chance to sneak away from town,
Then I'll spend my busman's holiday.
(Chorus out)
(Garland:) On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.

(Garland:) All aboard!
(Boys:) We came across the country lickety-split.

[Together]
(Garland:) Ooh, ooh, ooh, I ooh.
(Boys:) Goin' ninety miles an hour, fit to be tied.

(Chorus hums)
(Garland:) I can't believe I'm here at last.

[Together]
(Garland:) Ooh, ooh, ooh,
(Boys:) When you go traveling, it's natch for you.

[Together]
(Garland:) Ooh...
(Boys:) To take the Atchison, Topeka and the…
(Other boys:) …Atch…peke…

(Garland and boys:) Santa Fe.

(Garland:) I can't believe that anything could go so fast.
When I'm old and gray and settled down,
And if I ever get a chance to sneak away from town,
Then I'll spend my busman's holiday, ay!
On the Atchison…
(4 girls & 4 boys:) On the Atchison…
(Garland:) On the Atchison, Topeka…
(4 girls & 4 boys:) On the Atchison, Topeka…
(Garland:) On the Atchison, Topeka and…
(4 girls & 4 boys:) On the Atchison, Topeka and…
(Garland:) On the Atchison, Topeka an' the Santa Fe!