City of New Orleans was written by Steve Goodman. It’s about a train called “City of New Orleans”, the train that runs between Chicago and New Orleans.
You can read the story behind the song here.
The songs has been performed by many artists over the years, this is one of my favourites:
“You know, it’s funny. One night in a motel in Phoenix, Arizona, I wrote ‘Dang Me’ in just four minutes. It took me six weeks to write ‘King of the Road.’ I was driving from Davenport, Iowa, to Chicago, and somewhere along the way I saw a sign on the road which read, Trailers for Sale or Rent,’ and for some reason that phrase stuck in my mind. It wasn’t until later, in Boise, Idaho, that i really sat down and made something out of it, . . . although I had to induce labor to get it completed. I got stuck after the first verse, so i went out to a Boise store and bought a statuette of a hobo. I sat and stared at it until the rest of the tune came to me.” —Roger Miller (as quoted in Billboard and the Nashville Banner)