Recording Details

SFW40192
Classic Railroad Songs from Smithsonian Folkways
Various Artists


Notes - As 19th-century America expanded, so too did the "ribbons of iron" that crisscrossed the vast landscape and sparked the imagination of music-makers. Work songs, ballads recounting riveting exploits, and instrumental echoes of the once familiar sounds of the steam locomotive have enshrined the railroad in our musical memory. Classic Railroad Songs mines the Smithsonian Folkways archives to create this tribute to a favorite American source of inspiration. 36-page booklet. 71 minutes.

Complete lyrics for this recording available here.

Country(s) - United States

Culture Group(s) - American

Language(s) - English

Year of Release - 2006

Record Label - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Source Archive - Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Credits - Compiled by Jeff Place ; Cover photo by Jack Delano ; Mastered by Pete Reiniger ; Design by Communication Visual ; Liner Notes by Jeff Place




Tracks -
101 An excerpt from "Rail Dynamics"
n/a
Duration:0:24




102 Train 45
The New Lost City Ramblers
Duration:2:18




103 Kassie Jones
Furry Lewis
Duration:2:56




104 Jay Gould's Daughter
Pete Seeger
Duration:2:38




105 Railroad Bill
Walt Robertson
Duration:2:08




106 Linin' Track
Lead Belly
Duration:1:15




107 Freight Train
Elizabeth Cotten
Duration:2:43




108 Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill
Cisco Houston
Duration:2:30




109 Zack, the Mormon Engineer
L. M. Hilton
Duration:2:02




110 Lost Train Blues
The Virginia Mountain Boys
Duration:2:57




111 The FFV
Annie Watson
Duration:3:52




112 He's Coming to Us Dead
The New Lost City Ramblers
Duration:3:15




113 The Train That Carried My Girl from Town
Doc Watson
Duration:2:18




114 Rock Island Line
Lead Belly
Duration:2:03




115 Lonesome Train
Sonny Terry, Woody Guthrie, and Cisco Houston
Duration:3:31




116 John Henry
Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston
Duration:2:42




117 The Wreck of the Number Nine
Rosalie Sorrels
Duration:1:36




118 Freight Train Blues
Brownie McGhee
Duration:3:36




119 The New Market Wreck
Mike Seeger
Duration:3:39




120 Jerry, Go Oil That Car
Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock
Duration:2:37




121 Way Out in Idaho
Rosalie Sorrels
Duration:3:34




122 Old John Henry Died on the Mountain
Henry Grady Terrell
Duration:1:55




123 Casey Jones
John D. Mounce
Duration:0:20




124 Wreck of the Old 97
Ernest V. Stoneman
Duration:2:51




125 Midnight Special
Lead Belly
Duration:2:03




126 Wabash Cannonball
Doc Watson
Duration:3:17




127 Lost Train Blues
Vernon Sutphin
Duration:1:13




128 New River Train
Iron Mountain String Band
Duration:4:26




129 Excerpt from "Three Little Engines and 33 Cars"
n/a
Duration:0:25