A lot of train songs have trains as an allegory or symbol for some larger life experience. Here is one of those by the Civil Wars called My Father’s Father. This link is a whole concert, but the first song is the one I am referring to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-oSvtoBDVU
THANK YOU OVERMOD! Vintage Gordon Lightfoot, a hell of a lot better than the crap they call music nowadays.
See the way those young ladies were lookin' at him? Damn, I should have learned to play the guitar, and a twelve-string at that!
Arlo came to Chicago to perform at the Quiet Knight, where Steve was a regular. Steve approached Arlo and asked if he could perform a song for him. Arlo was tired and not at all interested, but said, "I'll tell you what. You buy me a beer and I'll sit here and drink it. And for as long as it lasts, you can do whatever you want." That's the way Arlo tells the story, and he concludes: "It was one of the finer beers of my life". Many people attribute the song to Arlo, but Arlo himself has always been quick to credit Steve for writing it. Steve actually rode the City of New Orleans on several occasions, and wrote most of the song on a trip to Downstate Illinois with his wife. The story is told in STEVE GOODMAN --- FACING THE MUSIC, the biography written by Clay Els.
Tom
I too like Steve Goodman's version; and you learn something new every day, I always thought Arlo Guthrie wrote it so thanks for the info. The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald is one of my favorites so I look forward to listening to Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railrod Trilogy.
Kapmike:
I'll add my welcome to that of the others, and I second the suggestion that you look up the previous thread. You might also look up Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy".
As for "City of New Orleans", it was written by Steve Goodman, whose 68th birthday would be July 25 if he had lived. Unfortunately, he succumbed to Leukemia Sept. 20, 1984. I think his various versions of "City" --- especially the ones with minimal accompaniment --- are far superior to anybody's covers. Personal opinion, of course.
Thanks for the Welcome! I checked out the Driver 8 video and it was different and fun. I'll look for the Willie Nelson and Neil Young videos.
The video for 'Driver 8' is excellent too, instead of a typical music video it is composed of railroad clips in and around Chessie System's Clifton Forge yard.
And if you haven't heard them already the Willie Nelson cover of 'City of New Orleans' and the live version of 'Southern Pacific' Young recorded with the International Harvesters are terrific too.
And may I second Firelock in welcoming you to the Trains' community.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
One more thing, welcome aboard!
Thanks; I will.
Oh, it's been covered all right! Go to Page Two of "General Discussion" and scroll down to the bottom, there's a trains songs thread there. Check it out, you'll have a ball!
PS: Good choices!
This is probably a topic that has been covered before but I'm new to the Forum. My three favorites, in order, are:
* City of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie - not very original on my part as it is probably a favorite of many but I think it's the best song for telling the story of riding a long-distance passenger train in the 60s.
* Southern Pacific by Neil Young - great song telling the story from the perspective of an old-time engineer nearing the end of his career.
* Driver 8 by R.E.M. - About an overworked engineer (or maybe there's some symbolism I don't get) but I really like the lyrics describing the landscape as seen from the train.
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