"Midnight Special" is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the American South. The song refers to the passenger train Midnight Special and its "ever-loving light" (sometimes "ever-living light").

The song is historically performed in the country-blues style from the viewpoint of the prisoner and has been performed by many artists.

Country musicians Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper had a top 5 country hit with their reworking of the song in 1959 as "Big Midnight Special".

Only two versions of the song have reached the US Billboard Hot 100. Paul Evans recorded the highest-charting version of "Midnight Special," reaching number 16 in the winter of 1960. Five years later, Johnny Rivers' version reached number 20 in 1965. The Johnny Rivers version was used as the theme for the NBC music program The Midnight Special.

Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Odetta, Les Paul, The Kingston Trio (who also recorded their song "The Tijuana Jail", which retains the same music but with new lyrics), Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary, Burl Ives, Big Joe Turner, Bobby Darin, Cisco Houston, Jimmy Smith, Mungo Jerry, Van Morrison, Little Richard, Buckwheat Zydeco, Otis Rush, The Spencer Davis Group, Lonnie Donegan, Eric Clapton, The Louvin Brothers, Long John Baldry, The Kentucky Headhunters, Willie Watson, Mischief Brew, Hoyt Axton, Odetta, Billy Bragg, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, among others, have recorded the song. Jody Miller arranged her own version and included it on her first album Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe in 1963.

Harry Belafonte's 1962 version is notable for containing the first official recording of Bob Dylan, who played harmonica.

Harry Dean Stanton performs the song in the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke.

Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s 1969 version was used in the opening sequence of Twilight Zone: The Movie, in a scene featuring Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd enthusiastically singing along.