McCall, C. W. - Gallopin' Goose Lyrics






On a cold November mornin'
Back in nineteen-thirty-seven
With an early snow a-fallin'
On the three-foot tracks at Ames
Came a mighty strange contraption
Known to trainmen as a motor
But to folks in Colorado
She was known by another name

Up the canyons south of Sawpit
Past the red Cathedral spires
'Cross the yellow mountain switchbacks
And the rapids far below
On the high and lofty trestles
Near the fabled mines of Ophir
In the silver San Juan Mountains
Came a goose a-plowin' snow

With a Pierce-Arrow engine
Runnin' hot and on the loose
Came the Rio Grande Southern
The Gallopin' Goose
With a Pierce-Arrow engine
Runnin' hot and on the loose
Came Number Five, The Gallopin' Goose

'Twas a four-door auto-mobile
On a dozen wheels of iron
Sixteen feet of rockin' boxcar
Spot-welded to her tail
Loaded down with mercantile
Ten bags a' high-grade ore
Two mothers nursin' babies
Seven miners an' the mail

Up the side a' Sunshine Mountain
By internal gas combustion
Eight Pierce-Arrow pistons pullin'
Fifteen thousand pounds a' lead
At the snowshed on the summit
The conductor said his prayers
He declared a busted driveshaft
On the pass at Lizard Head

With a Pierce-Arrow engine
Runnin' hot and on the loose
Came the Rio Grande Southern
The Gallopin' Goose
With a Pierce-Arrow engine
Runnin' hot and on the loose
Came Number Five, The Gallopin' Goose

Down the three-percent to Rico
In the valley of Dolores
They still talk about the Southern
An' her flock of flyin' geese
From the roundhouse at Ridgway
To the depot at Durango
All the tracks are gone for scrap iron
And the ganders rest in peace

Up the canyons south of Sawpit
Past the red Cathedral spires
'Cross the yellow mountain switchbacks
And the rapids far below
On the high and lofty trestles
Near the fabled mines of Ophir
In the silver San Juan Mountains
There's a legend in the snow

With a Pierce-Arrow engine
Runnin' hot and on the loose
Came the Rio Grande Southern
The Gallopin' Goose
With a Pierce-Arrow engine
Runnin' hot and on the loose
Came Number Five, The Gallopin' Goose





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McCall, C. W. Gallopin' Goose Comments
  1. C.... O....

    Having a model train of the Galloping Goose would be great in N scale, HO scale & the Lionel O scale. It would be great in any model railroad setup.

    C.... O....

    https://www.con-cor.com/product-category/collector-series/galloping-goose/

  2. T.... ....

    Great dong

  3. S.... C....

    Rode the #5 in Feb, great song

  4. B.... K....

    C.W. McCall singing about the geese.

  5. 2.... P....

    no crying in baseball

  6. M.... T....

    You can ride the Galloping Goose still these days at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. They have a couple of others on display too.

    M.... T....

    I seen a You Tube video of the running of theGallopingGeese running at theColorado Railroad Museum which is one of the3 best in the nation, the other two are in Sacrament,CA & Strasbourg,PA.

  7. D.... H....

    this is one of the best train songs of all time next to Silverton and wall bashcannon ball

    D.... H....

    Dakota Hampton what about miner's silver ghost

    D.... H....

    Thanks for explaining it was a train. I really did not know.

    D.... H....

    Dakota Hampton don’t forget 3801 by Ray King and Ron Russell.

  8. H.... ....

    Actually, there aer now 7 working geese.

  9. I.... F....

    Interesting story, a while back, I was in Vegas with some friends and we came across this guy, CW McCall, he was very drunk and had lost what little money he had gambling, he asked me if I coulld give hime some money to get home he agreed to let me take a dump on his face and we filmed it, I gave him 8 dollars and my friend Kenny punched him in the face and broke his glasses, it was such a magical weekend

    I.... F....

    Fucking dumbass

    I.... F....

    Honestly that is so fake cause that ain't his real name and he was worth millions

  10. T.... D....

    we happened upon the #5 on our family trip to CO a few years back. Also followed the Silverton train to Silverton itself where we rented a Jeep and drove the Alpine Loop. Can't wait to go back again some day

  11. H.... G....

    love it

  12. D.... ....

    My family had a CW McCall cassette back in the '80s and this song was in it. I've spent a lot of time in Ouray, CO, jeeping in the mountains up there. This song brings back memories!

  13. A.... ....

    ♪WONDERFUL song ♪

  14. n.... m....

    Thanks for uploading the music and doubly so for including the lyrics! 

  15. l.... ....

    Great tribute for the tough trains built on the cheap to serve America's Old West.  I love the soaring, euphoric music, especially in the song's bridge section.

  16. C.... O....

    I have seen two of the Galloping Geese, one at the Colorado State Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado on Sunday August 18th, 1974 and the other one at Knotts Buena Park,CA two years later.

    C.... O....

    #5 still runs on the Silverton-Durango excursion line - it makes the run in the early morning before the steam train does, to make sure the rails are clear & secure.

    C.... O....

    Christopher O'Rourke ; n ))iiiii(

  17. M.... ....

    I do love that a number of the Galloping Geese were preserved. Cheap to build, but good at what they did. :)

    M.... ....

    MrRailroadrunner i

    M.... ....

    All have been restored to running condition and a replica of #1 is running!

  18. S.... ....

    Im a real Goose

  19. p.... ....

    I'm a local so I wont send a PC but was a fan before I got here.

  20. C.... L....

    There are 3 of the Galloping Geese at the Colorado Railroad Museum

  21. r.... ....

    This is some serious, old school, truck driving music

  22. B.... O....

    This was one of my favorites. The whole album was good.

  23. K.... ....

    amazing he's still alive one of the last of his country music
    lets keep it alive

    K.... ....

    His gay partner and him used to live down the street from me in Bear Valley California. He was a nice guy. He would always invite the neighborhood kids over to play hide and seek. I heard now he is pretty much bedridden.

    K.... ....

    Tim Smith. I glad his partner was gay and not him.

  24. c.... ....

    I'm a child all over again when I hear this!

  25. G.... B....

    par excellent, thanks

  26. u.... ....

    Any one who wants to send a card or letter to Bill (CW McCall) his address is
    Bill Fries
    P.O. Box E
    Ouray, CO 81427

    He was born November 15, 1928