I found this gem on youtube. singer is Charlie Hope who writes and sings mostly for children. Its got a nice steam locomotive beat to it...I like it...Your kids might like it too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKlHABc8HTE
Anyone else know of any good train songs?
Gerry Mulligan's K-4 PACIFIC really grabs me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk--ReORZCc
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Oh , yeah , I like the song , too . It sounds kind-a happy . I also like the little one dancing - I always enjoy seeing children happy , they have such a radiant innocence about their happiness : it's pure , clear and without deceit . (On the other hand to see one cry with relatives uncaring can make me furious!)
Uhm .. that Big Boy seems to be on road testing on the Swiss Railways ..? Is that part of Swiss preparing for EU financial collapse when they rather sell their home generated electricity to Germany for hard Swiss Fraenkli , importing vice versa quantities of coal from German would be closed down coal mines for cheap Euros on loan ? As far as I know they could still buy seven of them , although I'm not sure if selling them would make any noticeable difference on our national deficit ...
.
The Jazz piece is interesting , yet - sorry - not reminding of a K-4s at all . Maybe some Brazilian meter gauge railway winding though the jungle .. the FC Thereza-Christina in steam time . The K-4s sure was an able engine , but as flexing and agile as that ? Dunno …
Never mind , Arthur Honegger's 'Pacific 231' didn't convey anything Steam to me neither - it's quite an effervescent piece , a bit weird if you pardon me , partly eerie , uncanny even , but not reminding of Pacific steam .
Guess , to exceedingly sensitive musicians steam locomotives can make extreme impressions and might cause unpredictable reactions ...
Oh - and here’s my all-time favourite : Arlo Guthrie , City of New Orleans ! It can still choke me and get my eyes wet in a weak moment . See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piUWIqWSthA&feature=related with quite a nice computer animated video of the train . Or if you prefer Johnny Cash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9NGGfzD_Vc&NR=1 He sure had some good , original and true railroad songs of his own that somehow always sound like Santa Fe to me – yet for the ‘City of New Orleans’ I prefer Arlo Guthrie . Or – hey ! – I didn’t know she has also sung it : Judy Collins , still a fine voice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs5Rk5J-HPc&feature=related (only , did you have to dress in pink , oh my , Judy …)
Some more suggestions?
Regards
= J =
Great train songs? Well we've all got out favorites, mine happen to be the following, and in no particular order:
"Casey Jones", the Johnny Cash version. Almost like being in the cab. And Johnnys version is so good it almost makes you forget what's going to happen. Almost.
"Ride This Train", also by Johnny Cash. Kind of obscure, but if you remember the TV show I'm sure you remember the "Ride This Train" storytelling segment.
A 19th Century piece by Johann Strauss called "Bahn Frei". "Bahn Frei" is the German equivalent of "Highball!" A rollicking piece of music!
"City of New Orleans." There's three versions I like, the Steve Goodman original, the famous Arlo Guthrie version, and a cover by Willie Nelson backed up by Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Don't know which one I like best.
"Chattanooga Choo-Choo" The immortal Glenn Miller at his best! For a real treat, there's an extended version done in the movie "Sun Valley Serenade", topped off with a dance number by the incredible Nicholas Brothers. I'll tell you, I don't know how we could have won World War Two without the B-17, the P-51, the M-1 rifle, and swing music!
Yes...those are all great songs! Thanks for posting...
Juniatha Oh , yeah , I like the song , too . It sounds kind-a happy . I also like the little one dancing - I always enjoy seeing children happy , they have such a radiant innocence about their happiness : it's pure , clear and without deceit . (On the other hand to see one cry with relatives uncaring can make me furious!)
Ha ha...some of those innocent little ones can make their relatives cry too...
Thanks, Juniatha, for Arlo Guthrie’s "The City of New Orleans." Every time I hear it, from the first time (in 1972) to today, it reminds me of my last trip on the IC’s City of New Orleans.
In April of ‘70, I had planned to ride the through sleeper from St. Louis to New Orleans, leaving St. Louis the day before I did leave–but the Wabash Cannon Ball, which I took from Detroit to St. Louis did not get me to St. Louis on time to make the connection (among other things, we came up on a freight that had broken in two, and before it was put back together and everything checked, someone passing by stepped in between two cars and closed an anglecock. That the train to Detroit had come in late the night before and the crews were called out on short rest would not have mattered but for the delay caused by the freight’s problems; as it was, the dogcatcher was at the right place at the right time with the relief crews, so that did not delay us).
The animated video of the train was good–except it did not show a dome coach but did show an observation car and lounge car, which no longer were operated.
As to the operation of this particular run, we did not arrive in New Orleans until in the morning because of electrical problems on all three units of the engine. At Fulton, Ky., an electrician came on board, but he was unable to get the matter resolved, and at Dyersburg, Tenn., two Geeps were put on the point. They just could not make the scheduled time of the train, and we left Memphis about four hours late (no changing of cars, though) and arrived in New Orleans between six and seven hours late. To make sure that I made it to Tuscaloosa the same day, I detrained at Carrollton Ave. (until Amtrak came along, all inbound and outbound trains stopped there), and caught the Southern Crescent there.
I have always like the reference to "fathers’ magic carpet made of steel"–especially since I had ridden on a pass several times (my father operated a locomotive crane in the ACL’s Tampa shop, and my mother was able get a pass once a year).
Johnny
@ Ulrich :
quote : >> Ha ha...some of those innocent little ones can make their relatives cry too... <<
Ha-ha-ha - if they cry it is at least some reaction ! Why have children if they don't care for them ? Usually it's not that hard to find out what's the trouble and fix it . You can make children understand if you let them know you're there and you take them serious . It's really simple , don't know what the fuss is about 'they make me mad' and all that . I've seen so many parents not giving a dime if their children cry their lungs out or not it's unbelievable ! They just don't hear it and they don't care why or what's wrong - terrible . Hearts of stone , minds half dead ! It's no joke , I think it's a sign of the times and it's *** serious ! What people do you think such children will become ?
-
And add :
I definitely prefer to see them smile than to see them cry ! If you ask me , yes , I have interfered in cases , I just can't bear it ! One time in the subway there was a family on the other side of the car and both their little children - one boy and one girl were crying real hard . There's a difference in their crying when they're really desperate and that's what I heard from them . Still both parents didn't care for them in any way , they just kept placidly talking to each other . Finally the man raised his arm and shouted like "Shut up now or I make you quiet " The same moment I heard myself hiss "Just one slap and I slap you !" I was so enraged I didn't care if or how much he might be stronger than me and he could probably see that . Now , don't believe this would have interested any people around - on the contrary , one guy was quietly getting up , pretending like he had just discovered he had to leave . Ok , there was no slap and the little ones were noticing something had changed and gradually ceased crying to watch what would happen . So did the mother , but all this big talking man delivered was some verbal abuse and how could I make it my business and why should it concern me (if it doesn't concern him ?) on which I replied "It always concerns me if children are in need !" Not really a satisfying answer to this man , but true - and me , I wasn't sure if saving them from beating now wouldn't mean extra beating once they got home ...
Ok - back to trains .. pooh ...
Well, I posted this one before, but here's my new favorite. It replaced "Fireball Mail" by Roy Acuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV9j1LqLYMU
"Rail and Machine Fire, Smoke and Steam".
I do not believe anyone has ever said it better.
Well..speaking of trains and kids, I never understood how my own interest in trains would ever be of any value to me (beyond just being interested). I discovered that on the day I became a parent. Both my son and my daughter are avid train fans...we hang out at all the good train watching spots around Toronto on weekends...and I'm sure that in 20 years from now those will be among my best memories. Sometimes understanding does come along in its own time.
greyhounds Well, I posted this one before, but here's my new favorite. It replaced "Fireball Mail" by Roy Acuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV9j1LqLYMU "Rail and Machine Fire, Smoke and Steam". I do not believe anyone has ever said it better.
Thanks for posting...I like it too. I wonder if someone will ever write a song about a GE ES4400CW grinding up a grade with a string of double stacks... I love the chanting rhythmic sound of those engines when they're opened wide up...
@ firelock
Oh , my goodness , the Chattanooga Choo-Choo – how could I forget that one ! It was a favorite of my father’s – although mom never got fully convinced it wasn’t just because of the Andrew Sisters …
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/t/the-andrews-sisters/the-chattanooga/
Pardon me, boy, Is this the Chattanooga choo choo? Track twenty-nine Boy, you can give me a shine I can afford To board a Chattanooga choo choo I've got my fare And just a trifle to spare You leave the Pennsylvania Station 'bout a quarter to four Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore Dinner in the diner Nothing could be finer Than to have your ham an' eggs in Carolina When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar Then you know that Tennessee is not very far Shovel all the coal in Gotta keep a-rollin' Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are There's gonna be A certain party at the station Satin and lace I used to call funny face She's gonna cry Until I tell her that I'll never roam So Chattanooga choo choo Won't you choo-choo me home Chattanooga choo choo Won't you choo-choo me home
Udo Lindenberg, German singer song writer, had made a German text version of it , not in full earnest , ‘Sonderzug nach Pankow’ – that was shortly before the fall of the wall when East Germany opened the border . Udo sang to Erich ‘Honey’ Honegger (not the composer) general secretary of ‘the party’ SED (or in other words minister president of DDR) as if he was just as relaxed a person as anyone and you could talk to him nonchalantly , easy-going as to your buddy . Beneath the joking it had a message , though , and probably Udo was right about that in his own way : ease down , allow for releasing some pressure – only that the real Erich Honegger was much to stiff and his mind much too fenced in to understand the words – let alone do something relaxing the building tension . The East Germans loved the song, of course but Honegger didn’t even let Lindenberg have a concert in East-Berlin – ‘corse not . The only thing the SED party had learned in all those decades was just to answer pressure with more pressure – however time was running out fast and as Gorbachev had said on his last visit to East-Berlin, life would pass those who don’t keep up with it . So , very soon , we could freely venture to the eastern part of the city and I discovered the Pankow special still got a chance to have a 52-80 Decapod up front …
Udo Lindenberg, German singer song writer, had made a German text version of it , not in full earnest , ‘Sonderzug nach Pankow’ – that was shortly before the fall of the wall when
Udo’s site : http://www.udo-lindenberg.de/chattanooga_choo_choo.57775.htm
Here’s the lyrics :
(you can only fit the words into the song by Udo’s redoubtable mumbling , like " Entschuldigen Sie " becomes " ’tshuljn-See " and so on – it’s kind of special , you might say if you can understand Udo , you really do know German!)
Entschuldigen Sie, ist das der Sonderzug nach Pankow ich muß mal eben dahin, mal eben nach Ost-Berlin ich muß da was klären, mit eurem Oberindianer ich bin ein Jodeltalent, und ich will da spielen mit 'ner Band Ich hab'n Fläschchen Cognac mit, und das schmeckt sehr lecker das schlürf' ich dann ganz locker mit dem Erich Honecker und ich sag': Ey, Honey, ich sing' für wenig Money im Republik-Palast, wenn ihr mich laßt all die ganzen Schlageraffen dürfen da singen dürfen ihren ganzen Schrott zum Vortrage bringen Honey, ich glaub', Du bist doch eigentlich auch ganz locker ich weiß, tief in dir drin, bist Du eigentlich auch 'n Rocker du ziehst dir doch heimlich auch gerne mal die Lederjacke an und schließt Dich ein auf'm Klo und hörst West-Radio Hallo, Erich, kannst mich hören Hallölöchen - Hallo Hallo, Honey, kannst' mich hören Hallo Halli, Halli Hallo Joddelido (Genosse Erich, im übrigen hat der Oberste Sowjet nichts gegen ein Gastspiel von Herrn Lindenberg in der DDR.)
@ Deggesty
Yeah , the song has some lyrics that take to the heart – with me it’s the line ‘this train’s got to disappear in railroad blues’ – I get the blues then , I guess …
Ridin' on the City of New Orleans Illinois Central, Monday mornin' rail 15 cars & 15 restless riders Three conductors, 25 sacks of mail All along the southbound odyssey the train pulls out of Kankakee Rolls along past houses, farms & fields Passin' graves that have no name, freight yards full of old black men And the graveyards of rusted automobiles Good mornin' America, how are you? Don't you know me? I'm your native son! I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done Dealin' cards with the old men in the club car Penny a point, ain't no one keepin' score Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle And feel the wheels rumblin' neath the floor And the sons of Pullman porters & the sons of engineers Ride their fathers' magic carpets made of steel Mothers with their babes asleep, rockin' to the gentle beat And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel Good mornin' America, how are you? Say don't you know me? I'm your native son! I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans. I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done. Night time on the City of New Orleans Changin' cars in Memphis, Tennessee Halfway home, we'll be there by mornin' Thru the Mississippi darkness rollin' down to the sea But all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream And the steel rail still ain't heard the news The conductor sings his songs again "The passengers will please refrain: This train got the disappea rin' railroad blues Good night America, how are you? Say don't you know me? I'm your native son! I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans. I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done.
- Oh , the Wabash Cannon Ball – another well know train !
@ Greyhounds
Oh – wow – didn’t know that song before ! Yess – that’s it ! Got a cool rhythm an driving power that fits steam railroading … thank you for posting the link !
I saw the movie "Harvey Girls" recently, starring Judy Garland.
I think it dates to 1939 and is in colour. It was made using a Virginia and Truckee 4-4-0 as "number 49". The big production number covers the arrival and departure of the train with the cast marching alongside the train as it leaves until it accelerates away..
Do yuh hear that whistle down the line?I figure that it's engine number forty nine,She's the only one that'll sound that way.On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.See the ol' smoke risin' 'round the bend,I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend,Folks around these parts get the time o' dayFrom the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.Here she comes!Ooh, ooh, ooh,Hey, Jim, yuh better git the rig!Ooh, ooh, ooh,She's got a list o' passengers that's pretty bigAnd they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel,'Cause lots o' them been travelin' for quite a spell,All the way to Californiay,On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.
The song was a big hit in the 1940s
Also we shouldn't forget Johnnie B. Goode, the second verse..
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sackGo sit beneath the tree by the railroad trackOh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shadeStrumming with the rhythm that the drivers madePeople passing by they would stop and sayOh my that little country boy could play
The words probably mean more with the music...
M636C
As a child my parents collected antiques. I inherited a wind-up victrola record player with those quarter inch thick records. My favorite ( and I still know all the words) was the "Wreck of the Ole 97".
"Bahn Frei" was apparently composed by Johann's brother, Eduard Strauss. Johann's work, particularly "Blue Danube," was an early influence in my own musical tastes, thanks to its use in the soundtrack to "2001-A Space Odyssey." That soundtrack, and the synthesizer work "Switched On Bach," were heard by my very young ears (thanks, dad) long before I was listening to everything from Neil Young to Neil Diamond on the radio in the early 70s. Very long list of classical, country, folk, rock, pop, and other artists I could ramble on about here, but let me just list a handful of railroad-oriented tunes that come to mind.
"Driving the Last Spike," by Genesis. Singer/drummer Phil Collins really did the lyrics and emotion right in this tribute to the early builders of England's railways. Phil's an avid train buff and made quite a few headlines in recent years by announcing he had put his musical career on hiatus in order to finish a model railroad he was building with his youngest son(s).
"Last Train to Istanbul," by Steve Hackett, guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire who left Genesis in the late 70s. It's off his recent "Out of the Tunnel's Mouth" CD, steam train with Steve on the cover. Steve's a train buff too, a bit more toward the vintage steam side of things. He managed to post frequent photos of his encounters with various forms of railroading during his recent world tour.
"Honky Tonk Train Blues," by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. A bluesy instrumental piano and horns piece. Perhaps a bit too eclectic for those who lean only toward Neil Young's "Southern Pacific" or the Dead's "Casey Jones."
Here's one from Murray McLaughlan...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y-_svMmUCQ
From the 1973 movie "Emperor of the North" - see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070030/
"A Man and a Train"Lyrics by Hal DavidMusic by Frank De VolSung by Marty Robbins
Don't start me talkin' "Cause I'll tell erverything I knows". Jesse Fuller's "The Monkey and the Engineer", Hank William's "Steel Rail Blues", Bob Dylan riding down the double E with the moon lookin' pretty........... Flatt & Scruggs OBS and Doc Watson, and Seldom Scenes "Train From Poor Valley", Tom Rush's" Panama Limited" (he gets it rolling!!!). Then The Stones "there were two lights on behind" but forget the tune.
Glenn Miller had a jumpin' band and I love all train related tunes, or ballads, or joyous songs, but it's interesting how many have to do with departure, .lost loves, to the promised land, etc. And Gladys I love Ya for Midnight Train.
Train music has to be evocotive for me. Whether the Blues or R&B through Jazz (has Al Green ever recorded a train song, "cause I'd buy it) and if I was ever stranded on a desert island I'd hope it would be with Sam Cooke, Roberta Flack and Susan Sarandon. With some kind of music player to back us up of course.
RIX.
rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.
Good Lord, how could I forget these two!
Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy", a "song and story" about the building of the CPR.
Johnny McCulloms "Santa Fe All The Way"
Panama Limited by Tom Rush:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdOToAXo5WQ&feature=related
5:15 by The Who
Oh yes, Taj Mahal's "She Caught the Katy" (see below).and Vernon Dalhart's "Wreck of the Old 97" on the Victor Tallking Machines Co, label, although his "The Prisoner's Song" (o'er these prison walls I would fly) remains my favorite among his works. You Country guys should Wiki him to life.
Can't reccomend the Paul Buttrerfield Band's "Two Trains A'running" but the LP side filling "East-West" bends my mind to this day.Butterfield. Bloomfied, Natalfin, what a band, that broke up in to Electric Flag and the Supersession album with Stevie Stills from Buffalo Springfield.
"The Rock Island Line (it's a mighy fine line)" was that Leadbelly's or John Hurt's ?
I've got all these LP's and nothing to play 'em on. Can anyonee recommend an economical play system.? I'm way past the days when I had an Akai M9 recorder, a Dual 1019 turntable, a Pioneer tuner/amp and speakers, and an Uher portable recorder. Remember Ampex 8" tapes?
"Steel Rail Blues" I miss Hank
Rixflix
Just in case you need your emotional gas tank topped off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZwVcsANtWQ
Here's another one from Canada..Gordon Lightfoot's "Railroad Trilogy", about the construction of the CPR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzo6Otpgj-E
Ulrich, thanks for the Gordon Lightfoot posting. I think it was the Canadian historian Pierre Berton who said Gordon Lightfoots song said more about the building of the CPR in seven minutes than his own book said in 400 pages. I can well belive it!
Readers of this forum over a certain age who've ever noticed my signature bar at the bottom of my posts know what my favourite Great Train Song is; "I'm Moving On" by Hank Snow. I've found a clip on Youtube of Hank performing the song on a Country Music show hosted by Johnny Cash. Johnny gives as good an introduction to Hank as I could so I won't retype it here. I will just say what Johnny didn't know was Hank would live until the age of 85 and die on his Rainbow Ranch at Madison Tennessee in 1999.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL_fnyHwr68
For those of you who didn't catch my favourite line in country music here is another clip from 1950.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti4G1AX0v-g&feature=related
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Bucyrus,
I know, I know. "She's gone everywhere but home". Rush's version was sort of an amalgam of Bukka Whites "Special Streamline" and "Panama Limited" and Rush is playing it to this day. Ya know, the white rock bands always got debits for reaping the royalties that the original artists never dreamed of. But thanks to the folkies.the Brits. the Bluegrrass people, alot of rockers (think Mickey Hart from The Dead and Bob Hite of Canned Heat), the R&B and Jazz stations, like WPFW Pacifica here in DC for keeping some of their careers and all those "originals" alive.
Gonna have to pick up the Lightfoot too and always admired his "If I Could Read Your Mind".
Wow, what a "rush", John Prine, Leo Kottke's "Tiny Island", and dear Steve Goodman who died too young.
RIX
"
rixflix Bucyrus, I know, I know. "She's gone everywhere but home". Rush's version was sort of an amalgam of Bukka Whites "Special Streamline" and "Panama Limited" and Rush is playing it to this day. Ya know, the white rock bands always got debits for reaping the royalties that the original artists never dreamed of. But thanks to the folkies.the Brits. the Bluegrrass people, alot of rockers (think Mickey Hart from The Dead and Bob Hite of Canned Heat), the R&B and Jazz stations, like WPFW Pacifica here in DC for keeping some of their careers and all those "originals" alive. Gonna have to pick up the Lightfoot too and always admired his "If I Could Read Your Mind". Wow, what a "rush", John Prine, Leo Kottke's "Tiny Island", and dear Steve Goodman who died too young. RIX "
Here is Panama Limited by Bukka White.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS1JMdvvd7w&feature=related
It is different from the Tom Rush rendition as you mentioned it was. I was always a Tom Rush fan, and I just stumbled across his Panama Limited on Youtube. I like those train songs that put a train into a larger emotional context of everyday life. There is a lot of "movin' on" theme to many train songs.
Here is Bukka White's Speical Streamline that makes up half that Tom Rush amalgam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHsRrq1i0lo&NR=1
Apart
from known RR songs which deal with RR 'by default' so to speak , what I would find much more interesting is :
Do you have any music piece(s) that you feel are characterizing or describing or just fitting your favourite locomotive ? This may be Rock , Pop or Classic ... and although in my parlance the term 'locomotive' by default means 'steam locomotive' I'd be curious to learn of a music piece evocative of a diesel locomotive ...
Mind telling us ..?
Juniatha
Firelock76 Good Lord, how could I forget these two! Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy", a "song and story" about the building of the CPR. Johnny McCulloms "Santa Fe All The Way"
Gordon Lightfoot's song is really great to hear. Most all of the songs are interesting and this is one you might have heard that is more of a company song, but uplifting.
CZ Thanks to Utahrails for the song link. Click on http://utahrails.net/up/rollin-rr.php then on the Great Big Rolling Railroad to hear the song.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.