"City of New Orleans": Arlo Guthrie, Right?

Still, when I listen to the German version I hear a much stronger connection to Guthrie's style than Goodman's.

I don't know the right music terminology. To my ear, Guthrie and Weis sing on the beats with even syllables, while Goodman stretches and compresses the syllables within the beat.

Like, Guthrie has "sóns of Púll·man Pórt·ers and sóns of én·gin·éers", where I use the acute accent to indicate emphasis, and with the same timing between the syllables, making it like the puffs and chuffs of a steam locomotive.

Weis's song also has very regular timing.

While Weis has "sōns öf Pūll·män Pōrt·ers änd sōns öf ēngïnēers" where I use the macron to show both emphasis and stretching of the vowel, and the dieresis to indicate a shortened vowel.