Category: Railroad

Hard Travelin’

Mp3:
Hard Travelin’ – Click To Play

Camilla and I have been on the road since the beginning of September and are going to sea this week. We’ve been doing some hard traveling!!! This is a great Woody Guthrie song.

Lyrics:

[G] I’ve been havin’ some hard travelin’, I thought you knowed
I’ve been havin’ some hard travelin’, [A] way down [D] the road
[G] I’ve been havin’ some hard travelin’, [C] hard ramblin’, [Am] hard gamblin’
[G] I’ve been havin’ some [D] hard travelin’, [G] lord

I’ve been ridin’ them fast rattlers, I thought you knowed
I’ve been ridin’ them flat wheelers, way down the road
I’ve been ridin’ them blind passengers, dead-enders, kickin’ up cinders
I’ve been havin’ some hard travelin’, lord

I’ve been hittin’ some hard-rock minin’, I thought you knowed
I’ve been leanin’ on a pressure drill, way down the road
Hammer flyin’, air-hose suckin’, six foot of mud and I shore been a muckin’
And I’ve been hittin’ some hard travelin’, lord

I’ve been hittin’ some hard harvestin’, I thought you knowed
North Dakota to Kansas City, way down the road
Cuttin’ that wheat, stackin’ that hay, and I’m tryin’ make about a dollar a day
And I’ve been havin’ some hard travelin’, lord

I’ve been working that Pittsburgh steel, I thought you knowed
I’ve been a dumpin’ that red-hot slag, way down the road
I’ve been a blasting, I’ve been a firin’, I’ve been a pourin’ red-hot iron
I’ve been hittin’ some hard travelin’, lord

I’ve been walking that Lincoln highway, I thought you knowed,
I’ve been hittin’ that 66, way down the road
Heavy load and a worried mind, lookin’ for a woman that’s hard to find,
I’ve been hittin’ some hard travelin’, lord

Midnight Special

Mp3:
Midnight Special – Click To Play

Prison legend had it that if you were touched by the light of the Midnight Special train, you were bound to be freed from prison. “Midnight Special” was recorded by Lead Belly but had been around for at least twenty years before his version became popular.

Lyrics:
“The Midnight Special”

[G] Well, you wake up in the [C] mornin’, you hear the work bell [G] ring
And they march you to the [D] table you see the same old [G] thing
Ain’t no food on the [C] table, and no pork is in the [G] pan
But you better not [D] complain, or, you get in trouble with the [G] man

[Chorus:]
[G] Let the Midnight [C] Special shine a light on [G] me
Let the Midnight [D] Special shine its everlovin’ light on [G] me

Yonder come miss Rosie, tell me how do you know?
By the way she wears her apron, and the clothes she wore
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
She come to see the gov’nor, she wants to free her man

[Chorus]

If you ever go to Houston, well, you better walk right
You better not gamble, you better not fight
The sheriff will grab you and thy’ll take you on down
The next thing you know, You’re prison bound

[Chorus]

[Chorus]

Freight Train

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Mp3:
Freight Train – Click To Play
Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten composed “Freight Train” as a teenager (sometime between 1906 and 1912), inspired by the sound of the trains rolling in on the tracks near her home in North Carolina.

The song has been recorded by Joan Baez, Peter Paul and Mary and countless others.

Lyrics:
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Please don’t tell what train I’m on
They won’t know what route I’m going

When I’m dead and in my grave
No more good times here I crave
Place the stones at my head and feet
And tell them all I’ve gone to sleep

When I die, oh bury me deep
Down at the end of old Chestnut Street
So I can hear old Number Nine
As she comes rolling by

When I die, oh bury me deep
Down at the end of old Chestnut Street
Place the stones at my head and feet
And tell them all I’ve gone to sleep

Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Please don’t tell what train I’m on
They won’t know what route I’m going

Nine Pound Hammer


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Mp3: Nine Pound Hammer – Click To Play
“Nine Pound Hammer” is a traditional work song used by railroad laborers in the post Civil War South of the United States. Much in the same way a sea chantey aided sailors, the rhythm of the song helped the workers keep a steady pace pounding spikes for railroad ties. Many of the verses can be found in other “Hammer” songs such as “John Henry.”

Lyrics:
[A] This nine pound hammer [D] is a little too heavy
[A] Honey for my size [E] buddy for my size.
[A] Honey for my size buddy for my size.

[A] So roll on buddy [D] don’t you roll so slow
[E] How can I roll [A] when the wheels won’t go

I’m going on the mountain for to see my baby
But I ain’t coming back no I ain’t coming back

So roll on buddy don’t you roll so slow
How can I roll when the wheels won’t go

There ain’t one hammer in this here tunnel
That’ll ring like mine that’ll ring like mine

So roll on buddy don’t you roll so slow
How can I roll when the wheels won’t go X 2

Engine 143

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Mp3: Engine 143 – Click To Play
Because I will be in Shanghai China on March 1, and not sure what Internet availability will be there, I’m releasing this a day early.”Engine 143″ is a famous Carter Family song preserved in the Anthology of American Folk Music (Edited by Harry Smith). It’s a cautionary tale of a young lad too dedicated to his machine to save his life. Are we slaves to our machines? Georgie’s mother warned him not to try to make up the time but to run his engine right. It’s a good reminder to always run our engines right.

Lyrics:

[A] Along came the F15 – the [D] swiftest on the [A] line
Running o’er the C&O road – just [B] twenty minutes [E] behind
[A] Running into Cevile – [D] head porters on the [A] line
Receiving their strict orders – from a [E] station just [A] behind

Georgie’s mother came to him – with a bucket on her arm
Saying my darling son – be careful how you run
For many a man has lost his life – in trying to make lost time
And if you run your engine right – you’ll get there just on time

Up the road he darted – against the rocks he crushed
Upside down the engine turned – and Georgie’s breast did smash
His head was against the firebox door – the flames are rolling high
“I’m glad I was born for an engineer – to die on the C&O line”

The doctor said to Georgie – my darling boy be still
Your life may yet be saved – if it is God’s blessed will
Oh no said George that will not do – I want to die so free
I want to die for the engine I love – one hundred and forty three

The doctor said to Georgie – your life cannot be saved
Murdered upon a railroad – and laid in a lonesome grave
His face was covered up with blood – his eyes they could not see
And the very last words poor Georgie – said nearer my God to thee

Swannanoa Tunnel

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Mp3: Swannanoa Tunnel – Click To Play
This is a Western North Carolina folksong about an 1800 foot railroad tunnel constructed in the late Nineteenth Century with the help of convict labor. HERE is an interesting historical discussion about it.
Lyrics:

Riff in A

I’m going back to the Swannanoa Tunnel
That’s my home, baby, that’s my home

Asheville Junction, Swannanoa Tunnel
All caved in, baby, all caved in

Last December I remember
The wind blowed cold, baby, the wind blowed cold

When you hear my watchdog howling
Somebody around, baby, somebody around

When you hear that hoot owl squalling
Somebody dying, baby, somebody dying

Ain’t no hammer in this mountain
Out rings mine, baby, out rings mine

This old hammer it killed John Henry
It didn’t kill me, baby, couldn’t kill me

Riley Gardner, he killed my partner
He couldn’t kill me, baby, he couldn’t kill me

This old hammer it rings like silver
It shines like gold, baby, it shines like gold

Take this hammer, throw it in the river
It rings right on, baby, it shines right on

Some of these days I’ll see that woman
Well that’s no dream, baby, that’s no dream

I’ve Been Working On The Railroad

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Mp3: I’ve Been Working On The Railroad – Click To Play
In the 1800’s working on the railroad was a good job for many folks who had immigrated to the United States from other countries. The workers were hard driven! Evidently the “Dinah Won’t You Blow Your Horn” part of this tune was taken from a song of an earlier period. In any case it makes for a rousing chorus that’s repeated three times!
Lyrics:
[D] I’ve been working on the railroad [G] all the live long [D] day
I’ve been working on the railroad just to [Em] pass the time [A] away
Can’t you hear the whistle [D] blowing [G] rise up early in the [D] morn’
[G] Can’t you hear the captain [D] calling Dinah [A] blow your [D] horn

[D] Dinah won’t you blow [G] Dinah won’t you blow [A] Dinah won’t you blow [D] your horn
[D] Dinah won’t you blow [G] Dinah won’t you blow [A] Dinah won’t you blow [D] your horn
[D] Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah, Someone’s in the kitchen [A] I know
[D] Someone’s in the kitchen with [G] Dinah, [D] strumming on the [A] old [D] banjo

And singing [D] fe fi fiddlie i O fe fi fiddlie i [G] OOO [D] fe fi fiddlie [A] iO strumming on the old [D] banjo

Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow your horn
Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow your horn
Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah, Someone’s in the kitchen I know
Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah, strumming on the old banjo

And singing fe fi fiddlie i O fe fi fiddlie i OOO fe fi fiddlie iO strumming on the old banjo

Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow your horn
Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow Dinah won’t you blow your horn
Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah, Someone’s in the kitchen I know
Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah, strumming on the old banjo

And singing fe fi fiddlie i O fe fi fiddlie i OOO fe fi fiddlie iO strumming on the old banjo

John Hardy

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Mp3: John Hardy – Click To Play
In West Virginia, a railroad worker named John Hardy got violent during a game of craps and fatally shot Thomas Drews, a fellow player. Hardy was tried, found guilty of murder in the first degree and hanged on January 19, 1894. History records this from the Wheeling Daily Register. Judge Herndon and Walter Taylor defended Hardy. Allegedly, Hardy gave Judge Herndon his pistol as a fee.
Lyrics:
CAPO ON 1ST FRET
[F] John Hardy, was a [C] desperate little man,
[F] He carried two guns [C] every day.
[F] He shot a man on the [C] West Virginia line,
[C] You oughta seen John Hardy gettin’ away,
[C] You oughta seen John Hardy [G7] gettin’ [C] away.

John Hardy, he got to the Keystone Bridge,
He thought he would be free.
Up steps a man and takes him by his arm
Saying, “Johnny, walk along with me,”
Saying, “Johnny, walk along with me.”

John Hardy was a brave little man,
He carried two guns ev’ry day.
Killed him a man in the West Virginia land,
Oughta seen poor Johnny gettin’ away, Lord, Lord,
Oughta seen poor Johnny gettin’ away.

John Hardy was standin’ at the barroom door,
He didn’t have a hand in the game,
Up stepped his woman and threw down fifty cents,
Says, “Deal my man in the game, Lord, Lord….”

John Hardy lost that fifty cents,
It was all he had in the game,
He drew the forty-four that he carried by his side
Blowed out that poor Negro’s brains, Lord, Lord….

John Hardy had ten miles to go,
And half of that he run,
He run till he come to the broad river bank,
He fell to his breast and he swum, Lord, Lord….

He swum till he came to his mother’s house,
“My boy, what have you done?”
“I’ve killed a man in the West Virginia Land,
And I know that I have to be hung, Lord, Lord….”

He asked his mother for a fifty-cent piece,
“My son, I have no change.”
“Then hand me down my old forty-four
And I’ll blow out my agurvatin’ [sic] brains, Lord, Lord….”

John Hardy was lyin’ on the broad river bank,
As drunk as a man could be;
Up stepped the police and took him by the hand,
Sayin’ “Johnny, come and go with me, Lord, Lord….”

John Hardy had a pretty little girl,
The dress she wore was blue.
She come a-skippin’ through the old jail hall
Sayin’, “Poppy, I’ll be true to you, Lord, Lord….”

John Hardy had another little girl,
The dress that she wore was red,
She came a-skippin’ through the old jail hall
Sayin’ “Poppy, I’d rather be dead, Lord, Lord….”

They took John Hardy to the hangin’ ground,
They hung him there to die.
The very last words that poor boy said,
“My forty gun never told a lie, Lord, Lord….”

Drill Ye Tarriers

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Mp3: Drill Ye Tarriers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill” is an American folk song first published in 1888 and attributed to Thomas Casey (words) and much later Charles Connolly (music). The song is a work song, and makes references to the construction of the American railroads in the mid-19th century. The tarriers of the title refers to Irish workers, drilling holes in rock to blast out railroad tunnels. It may mean either to tarry as in delay, or to terrier dogs which dig their quarry out of the ground [1]

In the early 1960’s, Pete Seeger took the lyrics from an old Ukrainian folk song mentioned in the Russian novel And Quiet Flows the Don (1934) and the music from “Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill” to create the folk song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” with additional lyrics added later by Joe Hickerson.

Lyrics:
[Am] Every morning about seven o’clock
[E7] There were twenty tarriers drilling at the rock
[Am] The boss comes along and he says, “Keep still
[E7] And bear down heavy on the cast iron drill.”

Chorus
[Am] And drill, ye [G] tarriers, [Am] drill
[C] Drill, ye [G] tarriers, [Am] drill
For it’s [Am] work all day for the [G] sugar in you tay
[F] Down beyond the [E7] railway
And [Am] drill, ye [G] tarriers, [Am] drill
And blast, and fire.

The boss was a fine man down to the ground
And he married a lady six feet ’round
She baked good bread and she baked it well
But she baked it harder than the holes of …..

Chorus

The foreman’s name was John McCann
You know, he was a blamed mean man
Last week a premature blast went off
And a mile in the air went big Jim Goff.

Chorus

And when next payday came around
Jim Goff a dollar short was found
When he asked, “What for?” came this reply
“You were docked for the time you were up in the sky.”

Chorus

First verse

Chorus

500 Miles

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Mp3: 500 Miles
Hedy West (April 6, 1938 – July 3, 2005) was an American folksinger and songwriter. Her song “500 miles,” has been covered by Bobby Bare (a Billboard Top 10 hit in 1963), The Highwaymen, The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, Peter & Gordon, The Brothers Four and many others. A great number of Hedy’s songs, including the raw materials for “500 Miles” came from her paternal grandmother Lily West who passed on the songs she had learned as a child.

This has a sweet melody and a sad story of poverty and desolation.

Lyrics:

[A] If you miss this train I’m on [F#m] then you’ll know [Bm] that I have [D] gone
You can [Bm] hear the whistle [E] blow a hundred miles
[A] A hundred miles [F#m] A hundred miles [Bm] A hundred miles [D] A hundred miles
You can [Bm] hear the whistle [E] blow a hundred [A] miles

Lord I’m one Lord I’m two Lord I’m three Lord I’m four
Lord I’m five hundred miles from my home
Five hundred miles five hundred miles five hundred miles five hundred miles
Lord I’m five hundred miles from my home

Not a shirt on my back not a penny to my name
Lord I can’t go on home this a-way
This a-way this a-way this a-way this a-way
Lord I can’t go on home this a-way

[A] If you miss this train I’m on [F#m] then you’ll know [Bm] that I have [D] gone
You can [Bm] hear the whistle [E] blow a hundred miles
[A] A hundred miles [F#m] A hundred miles [Bm] A hundred miles [D] A hundred miles
You can [Bm] hear the whistle [E] blow a hundred [A] miles