Note: This entry was written several months ago and was originally scheduled for publication in June 2020, but in light of Kenny Rogers’ recent passing, it seemed appropriate to move the date forward, as a memorial tribute to a major talent. “On a warm summer’s evenin’ On a train bound for nowhere I met up …
“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 …
“Now listen to the jingle, and the rumble, and the roar, As she dashes thro’ the woodland and speeds along the shore, See the mighty rushing engine, hear her merry bell ring out, As they speed along in safety, on the Great Rock Island Route.” – J. A. Roff (1882) “The Great Rock Island Route”, …
“Heading for the station with a pack on my back I’m tired of transportation in the back of a hack I love to hear the rhythm of the clickity-clack And hear the lonesome whistle, see the smoke from the stack” – Choo Choo Ch’boogie (Darling/ Gabler/ Vaughn) © Warner Chappell Music In post-war, mid-century America, …
“Last night as I lay on the boxcar Just waiting for a train to pass by What will become of the hobo Whenever his time comes to die” – Hobo’s Meditation (Jimmie Rodgers) © Peermusic Publishing Hobo (noun) \ ˈhō-bō \ 1: a migratory worker 2: a homeless and usually penniless vagabond According to Merriam-Webster, …
“People get ready For the train to Jordan Picking up passengers From coast to coast” – People Get Ready (Mayfield) © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music “In the slave period here, one of the things that was prominent was the song – how the songs extolled the glory of God . . . You …
“You must take the ‘A’ train To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem” – Take the “A” Train (Strayhorn) © EMI Music Publishing Formally organized as a village in 1658 by Dutch immigrants, Harlem is now a neighborhood that occupies the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Named for …