It's been fifteen years now since the wine took hold of me
And the call of the wild it came so strong I just had to be free
Now I'm so tired of railroad tracks hobo camps and streams
And I wanna go back to my California dreams

It's seems like only yesterday I had such big plans
California sunshine Hollywood and girls money in both hands
But sittin' here in the cold night air I hear that lonesome whistle scream
I'll never get back to my California dreams

That ol' midnight train is a-flyin' low headin' for New Orleans
It's so cold standin' here I know what that means
Tomorrow I'll be in Dixie where the soft warm winds blow
Cause a hobo just don't care which way that ol' train goes

Cause one of these days I'll get to LA when I do boys watch my steam
Oh I gotta get back to my California dreams

Oh California here I come