“Hoboin’ is my game B & O’s my middle name I’m goin’ where that whistle wails And that’s why I’m ridin’ the rails” – Ridin’ the Rails (N. Claflin/ A. Paley) © Sire Records So goes the opening verse of “Ridin’ the Rails”, a song included in the 1990 Warren Beatty directed film, Dick Tracy. …
“The Gospel train’s comin’ I hear it just at hand I hear the car wheel rumblin’ And rollin’ thro’ the land” – The Gospel Train (Traditional) Harriet Tubman was the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. She was born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland, sometime between 1820 – 1822. Called Araminta Ross at …
“Take the last train to Clarksville And I’ll meet you at the station You can be there by 4:30 ‘Cause I’ve made your reservation Don’t be slow Oh, no, no, no . . .” – Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart) © Sony/ATV Music Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee. It is the …
“Outside another yellow moon Has punched a hole in the nighttime, yes I climb through the window and down to the street I’m shining like a new dime” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits) © Audiam, Inc Thomas Alan Waits was born December 7, 1949, in Pomona, California. He has one older sister and one younger …
“Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo? Track twenty-nine, boy you can gimme a shine I can afford to board a Chattanooga Choo Choo I’ve got my fare and just a trifle to spare” – Chattanooga Choo Choo (Gordon/Warren) © Sony/ATV Music The earliest inhabitants of the Chattanooga, Tennessee area were the Native …
“Well I woke up this morning And the sun refused to shine I knew I’d leave my baby With a troublin’ mind It rains every morning And evening is the same And it’s gonna be a long time ‘Til I hear the 2:10 train” – 2:10 Train (Albertano / Campbell) Ever since the dawn of …
“I feel oh, so blue I really don’t know what to do I got a brand new job: a tip collector It’s some job: a car protector” – Pullman Porter Blues (Clifford Ulrich & Burton Hamilton) © Leo Feist, Inc. On June 29, 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported that Lee Wesley Gibson, a resident …
“Well I broke down in East St. Louis, on the Kansas City line Drunk up all my money that I borrowed every time And I fell down at the derby, the night’s black as a crow It was a train that took me away from here But a train can’t bring me home” – Train …
“In an era of dissension On a bleak mid-winter morn There stood a house divided By righteous indignation borne” – Chunky Creek (Train Wreck of 1863) © C. R. Burgan, Jr. / BMI The winter of 1862 – 63 saw a number of attempts by the Union army to wrest control of the city of …
”There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun Long before the white man and long before the wheel When the green dark forest was too silent to be real” – Canadian Railroad Trilogy (Lightfoot) © Warner/Chappell Music Gordon Meredith …