David Foster put up links to Coal Mining songs and Rodeo songs over at Chicago Boyz, so I thought I would have a go at something more central to the Wyman household, train songs. We would sing them in the car frequently, forcing the boys to join in.
There are just too many in American folklore to give you anything comprehensive, but I thought I'd give you a few to sample.
Waiting For a Train by Jimmie Rodgers
Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten. This version is here not for its "authenticity," but for the two-finger picking style.
This Train by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
500 Miles by Roseanne Cash. I had never heard this version until tonight.
Morning Train by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Different version of the gospel song. Good harmonies, good build.
Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. My son used to object when I would sing this to my infant granddaughters. I can't imagine why.
Midnight Train To Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips
Hobo's Lullaby Arlo Guthrie
City of New Orleans, by Steve Goodman, who wrote it. Died of leukemia at 36.
Y'know, this might be the best of them all, the farewell to all the other train songs over the years. Had it been written 30 years earlier, it might not be remembered.
It's Italian, not American, but one of the best-known train songs is "Funiculì Funiculà". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTSAZAHiOa8
ReplyDeleteIt's Steve Goodman's perfect song. I always sing along... even if I'm not alone. Can the post be complete without The Wreck of the Old 97? Johnny Cash version, of course.
ReplyDeleteOr without Boxcar Willie's train whistle?
Yep. Steve Goodman accosted Arlo Guthrie in a restaurant to show and sing him this song. If not for that, it probably wouldn't have become as famous as it did.
DeletePerhaps a list of country songs not suitable for 18 and under would be fun. As you probably know well, most of that list would be understood (though not perfectly) by anyone 11 and older.
ReplyDeleteI've run into a tiny bit of flack for teaching my grandchildren Buddy Better Get on Down the Line. I think my children should be more appreciative of times I've filtered myself.
Good collection, linked at Chicago Boyz.
ReplyDeleteSince John Henry's steel-driving project was almost certainly for a railroad, that song might qualify too.
Goodman was known for being a relentless promoter, in the best possible way.
ReplyDeleteCasey Jones?
Tom Rush: The Panama Limited.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFTjC4I-7PU
DonnaB.
ReplyDeleteI've run into a tiny bit of flack for teaching my grandchildren Buddy Better Get on Down the Line. I think my children should be more appreciative of times I've filtered myself.
Flack for THAT song? (I knew that song by heart when I was 13.)About someone ready to ditch a partner who hasn't been loyal? Illicit romance is close to the theme of a very high percentage of song lyrics from day one. With the high divorce rate we have, most children become aware before adolescence that some adult partners are not loyal. Would you also have gotten flack for teaching them Mary Hamilton or Matty Groves from the Child catalogue, which Joan Baez sang?
That being said, I would not teach children the lyrics of many rap/hip-hop songs, but basically because I can't stand the lyrics myself.
DonnaB, I am reminded of an album confiscation from my childhood. A family friend lived with us to finish his final semester of college after his parents retired and moved away. He was a physics major and quite handy. Had a ham radio set, which he had built. He built us a TV set(this was the '50s). I inherited a radio and a record player from him. IIRC, sound from the record player came out of the radio.
ReplyDeleteI also inherited from him some record albums. Among the albums was Ed McCurdy's bawdy songs from Olde England. I don't believe I had even played the album before my mother confiscated the album. (I was in 3rd grade). I doubt I would have understood the songs. My parents were Tom Leherer fans. One of our babysitters was taken aback by my knowing his song about The Old Dope Peddlar ( with his powdered happiness). So they didn't believe in completely sealing off the ears of their children from the adult world.
Train song? Midnight Special. Leadbelly, Odetta, Credence....
https://youtu.be/Op2W1eGyvuA
ReplyDeleteSince my hometown is at the end of a Rock Island branch line.
Johnny Cash’s live performance of “Wreck of the Old 97” live from San Quentin is a great train song too.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Shocked, "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore," "If Love was a Train"
ReplyDeleteChris Smithers, "Train Home"
North Country Gentlemen, "Ghost Train"