It tells the story of a train journey home to Tennessee, from the point of view of an excited passenger who continually asks the porter for updates.

"Hey Porter" is Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two's first recording; Cash wrote the song with bandmates Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant after Sam Phillips (Owner of Sun Records) turned down "I Was There When It Happened", the song with which the three auditioned.

Having been stationed in Landsberg, Germany, during his stint with the United States Air Force, Cash based the song on a man returning home from overseas who felt elated to be returning to his native South.

"Hey Porter" was covered by Ry Cooder in 1972[2] on his second album Into the Purple Valley.

Additionally, Cash contributed the vocal for the cover version of "Hey Porter" on the Earl Scruggs Revue album Anniversary Special in 1975.