Chris,
Your post makes me realize once again how many of my favorite songs are train-related 
Here is a playlist from a radioshow in Denmark. The theme was Play Me A Train Song:
Cheers
1. Ike & Tina Turner - The Loco-Motion (1969)
2. Tiny Bradshaw - Train Kept A Rollin' (The) (1953)
3. Little Junior's Blue Flames - Mystery Train (1953)
4. James Brown & The Famous Flames - Night Train (1961)
5. The Pyramids - Train Tour To Rainbow City (1967)
6. The Monkees - Last Train To Clarksville (1967)
7. Dillard & Clark - Train Leaves Here This Morning (196
8. The Doobie Brothers - Long Train Runnin' (1973)
9. Joe Ely - Boxcars (197
10. The Clash - Train In Vain (1979)
11. Robert Johnson - Love In Vain (1937)
12. The Rolling Stones - Silver Train (1973)
13. The Velvet Underground - Train Round The Bend (1970)
14. Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders - It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (live) (1973)
15. Bob Dylan - Slow Train Coming (1979)
16. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Trains (2005)
17. Todd Snider - Play A Train Song (2004)
18. Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train To Georgia (1973)
19. Solomon Burke - Fast Train (2002)
20. Meade "Lux" Lewis - Honky Tonk Train Blues (1927)
21. The Delmore Brothers - Dis Train Am Bound For Glory (1954)
22. Johnny Cash - Train Of Love (195
23. Crosby, Stills & Nash - Marrakesh Express (1969)
24. Neil Young - Train Of Love (1994)
25. Gun Club - Black Train (1981)
26. The Ethiopians - Train To Skaville (1967)
27. Little Eva - The Loco-Motion (1962)
so daggum awesome. thank you. i love songs about trains more than i love riding on trains.
missed Los Lobos "Everybody Loves a Train."
that was great.
The post is fantastic, Chris. (I learned a new word: judder.) Glad you found the list useful. And can you believe this blow to the film world? I'm waiting for another--they always come in threes...
I have Duke Ellington's Happy Go Lucky Local, Johnny Hodges & His Orchestra's That's The Blues, Old Man, Jimmy Forrest's Night Train posted here, if anyone is interested: something borrowed, something blue,
A monumental post. Many thanks.
one of the best
Guy Clark - Desperadoes Waiting For A Train
http://play.rhapsody.com/
guyclar...playBounce=true
Your Anthony Powell quote reminds me of a memorable trip taken by John Ruskin....
My goodness what a wonderful posting! It made me think of all sorts of other train songs as well, I had fun going back through them too.
A special favorite: "Dead Man's Handle" by Richard Thompson
this is truly amazing, can't imagine the work that went into it.
i did one as well, and working on a second.
need to take a vacation though just to go through all yours.
thanks,
Great post, really gets to the heart of a huge topic. Thanks.
Thinking ahead to next year (it's probably not too early to start researching!):
As You Like It, II, vii:
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages…
...At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
"Not Yet Three" – Jonathan Richamn
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school...
"We Are Going to Be Friends" – Redd Blood Cells
...And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow...
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" – Frankie Lymon
...Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth...
"The Soldiers’ Song" (Irish National Anthem)
...And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part...
“"Revenge of a Middle Aged Woman" – Tracy Byrd
...The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound...
"When I’m Sixty Four" – The Beatles
...Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."
"The Angel of Death" – Hank Williams
well done, Richard--however, the idea of doing another theme series right now is about as appealing as eating wallpaper. But by next summer, I'm sure I'll have some insane idea ready.
I always tend to hit the wall while in the midst of writing these monstrous things (during the "colors" series last year, I nearly shut down the blog), but man, this one is wearing me out.
so i'm very glad to hear people are liking it--it makes the effort worthwhile.
wow!!! what a fantastic post...so much info and great music..thanks so much for making my night!!
Glad to see you've been including the great Delmore Brothers, more folks should get around to hearing them and this does help. The train song of theirs that always sticks out to me is 'Blue Railroad Train'
This is an amazing post! I know you must have put hours upon hours of work into this. Thank you.. I will spend the next few hours poring over it.
You've made a hybrid art form, in a way, with such indepth study on both railroads and music, and how the two relate.
Worthy of The History Channel.
It's like a very hip college class, and I'm glad I got to "audit" it along with you.
Congratulations. And thanks for the scholarship, sharity and hard work for us all.
Den
Combining the proposal of Richard with the theme of this post I'm reminded of "Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull:
Old Charlie stole the handle and the train won't stop going - no way to slow down.
Great blog, great pictures!
The picture of the brakeman in winter on top of a car applying the brakes is a painting by O. V. Schubert in 1860 and was in the March 10, 1877 issue of Harper's Weekly, although I can't verify that, as their website requires a subscription to see these old issues ( I got the info from the web site at
http://www.forgottenoh.com/moonv.../
moonville.html ). The original is a color painting and can be seen at http://www.oil-painting-
reproduc...eproduction.php
The painting is available as a reproduction -- do a search and there are at least two sites that have it if you are interested.
-Bob
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