# Good Morning America How Are Ya? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709 "2006-04-29T04:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/21 "2006-04-29T22:40:27Z")
_Rock Island Line_–Johnny Horton, among others. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/22 "2006-04-30T05:48:47Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > This thread just begs for a list of train songs and/or movies featuring trains or hoboes! King of the Road > [@](#): > > …I know every engineer, on every train, all the little children and all of their names. > And every handout that’s in town, > And every lock that ain’t locked when no one’s around Also: Waltzing Matilda Moon River (sort of) ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/23 "2006-04-30T06:06:39Z")
Rail enthusiast here… C’mon guys, come out of the woodwork. I can’t be the only one, and we don’t live in our mother’s basements or wear clothes from 1983… Do I protest too much? 😃 Anyway, I lived by the “Main Southern” between Sydney and Melbourne for a couple of years. Great stuff. Sururban “sparks” (electric trains), intercity express trains, mighty quadruple-headed multi-thousand ton freights… bliss. Rocked me to sleep every night. Where I’m living now is about a half mile from the local line. It only runs suburban electrics normally, but here in Australia we’re blessed with a strong rail heritage movement, and many weekends I wake to the blast of a steam whistle. Took a ride a few weeks back to the city of Gosford (50 miles north of Sydney) behind a 1942 vintage streamliner Pacific. Still grinning. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/24 "2006-04-30T06:33:29Z")
It’s been a very Johnny Cash kind of day. My hottest supervisor wore all black today. No one did it better than Johnny. I knew Johnny Cash had to have a song about a train, he has a bunch, even found a site that had you rate his train songs. All around the water tank waitin’ for a train A thousand miles away from home sleeping in the rain I walked up to a brakeman just to give him a line of talk He said if you’ve got money I’ll see that you don’t walk Well I haven’t got a nickel not a penny can I show He said get off you railroad bum and he slammed the boxcar door I love trains, unfortunately, all our rail lines are being converted to trails and I live in Florida, so no basement for my Lionel. Is snow a fair trade for having enough room to have a permanently displayed train set? Or should I stay in the land of sunshine and just kick out my dogs, husband and child? As a child, my babysitter lived next to a train. I still relate the sounds of a train to being a wee child in a safe, warm house, where cookies were often baked, hugs often given, and two perfect teenagers bedrooms that personified the 70’s. The son, all black light and velvet, the girl, all “if you love it set it free” peace signs and flowers. And biscuits, home made biscuits and gravy. I miss you Mrs. Martin. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/25 "2006-04-30T06:55:00Z")
_Just me and the stars on that flat car As the train pulled into Schreiber town Cop saw me jump and I was runnin’ I was scared he’s gonna run me down Now I see the porter smilin’ to my left hand As he’s lookin’ at the money that I hold in my right And I think how it’s nice he wants to know my name And I laugh out the window at the night This is a train song It’s a song about gettin’ lost It’s a song about what that cost This is a train song For birds that are stuck on the ground For ears that only listen for distant sounds…_ - Murray McLauchlan “Train Song” (1976) ---
**Author:** ![beebee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47774/32.png) [@beebee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beebee)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/26 "2006-04-30T09:02:00Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > _City Of New Orleans_, Bob Dylan NEVER mention bob dylan and an arlo guthrie song in the same breath. it’s sacriledge or blasphemy or something. ( i saw arlo in concert last may. the air smelled alot different than the last time i saw him. and they were selling wine instead of beer. last time i go to a concert in the rich part of town.) ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/27 "2006-04-30T12:26:40Z")
Pardon me if this one’s been done before: _Busted flat in Baton Rouge Waitin’ for a train_ – _Me and Bobby McGee_ There’s also a reference to a train in a Jerry Lee Lewis song which was covered by Meatloaf. I can’t think of the title or the lyric in question right now, but it starts like this: _Left my home in Norfolk, Virginia, California on my mind_ Ah yes, here’s the lyric: _bought me a through-train ticket and put luggage in my hand_. Now what on earth is the title? I’ve ridden trains in England and Japan, but never the US. I’d like to sometime, though. I’ve spent most of my time in Pennyslvania living near railroad tracks, and dreamt about hopping a freight to parts unknown a few times when I was a teenager. Thanks for memories of a good song! ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/28 "2006-04-30T12:52:46Z")
\*Oh, they give him his orders at Monroe, Virginia Out on the Southside Line Saying this is not Number Six it is old Ninety-seven Got to take her into Lynchburg on time. She was running down that grade doing ninety miles an hour When the whistle broke into a scream, And they found him in the wreck With his hand on the throttle And scalded to death by the steam.\* You’ve got to hear the Tex Ritter version – sometime in the late 1940s or early 50s I grew up in a railroad town and my friends and classmates were the sons or porters and engineers. Old railroad songs have had an appeal. Don’t forget _The Wabash Cannonball._ ---
**Author:** ![PerditaX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@PerditaX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerditaX)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/29 "2006-04-30T13:41:02Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > Pardon me if this one’s been done before: > _Busted flat in Baton Rouge > Waitin’ for a train_ – _Me and Bobby McGee_ I was thinking of that one, too! > [@Siege](#): > > There’s also a reference to a train in a Jerry Lee Lewis song which was covered by Meatloaf. I can’t think of the title or the lyric in question right now, but it starts like this: > _Left my home in Norfolk, Virginia, California on my mind_ > > Ah yes, here’s the lyric: _bought me a through-train ticket and put luggage in my hand_. Now what on earth is the title? It’s _Promised Land_ . It was written by Chuck Berry, and covered by Elvis. Other train/hobo songs? _Casey Jones_ - either the traditional or the Grateful Dead versions _The Big Rock Candy Mountain_ - It’s not a kids’ song; it’s about a hobo’s idea of paradise. Listen to the original Harry McClintock version on the _Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?_ soundtrack. _Wabash Cannonball_ _King of the Road_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/30 "2006-04-30T14:06:19Z")
> [@beebee](#): > > NEVER mention bob dylan and an arlo guthrie song in the same breath. it’s sacriledge or blasphemy or something. > > ( i saw arlo in concert last may. the air smelled alot different than the last time i saw him. and they were selling wine instead of beer. > last time i go to a concert in the rich part of town.) You mean Steve Goodman song, right? I have seen Arlo do a few Dylan tunes, so what would be the problem with if Dylan reciprocated? ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/31 "2006-04-30T14:48:59Z")
The Doors **Black train song** (of course) Also known as mystery train. **Midnight train to Georgia** **Can’t you see** by the Alman bros mentions grabbing a southbound all the way to Georgia (i think ga.) til the train…it run out of tracks. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/32 "2006-04-30T15:06:21Z")
_John Henry_ --folk song. It’s about a man laying steel for the railroad. I’ll go sit in a corner, since my contribution is so lame. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/33 "2006-04-30T15:07:33Z")
> [@dbygawdcapn](#): > > You mean Steve Goodman song, right? I have seen Arlo do a few Dylan tunes, so what would be the problem with if Dylan reciprocated? I know not whether Dylan ever covered Mr. Goodman’s _City of New Orleans_. However, many people think of it as an Arlo Guthrie song because it was his only top-40 hit and followed Goodman’s less-successful version by only a year. For many people Steve Goodman is only “that guy mentioned in David Allen Coe’s ‘You Never Even Call Me By My Name’.” _A friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song. And told me it was the perfect country and western song …_ I wonder if **Sgt Schwartz** intentionally linkd the two Goodman songs above. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/34 "2006-04-30T21:02:29Z")
You guys trying to get moved to Cafe Society or what? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/35 "2006-04-30T21:27:34Z")
> [@Sgt Schwartz](#): > > _Long Twin Silver Line_–Bob Seger > _Train, Train_–Blackfoot > _Casey Jones_–Greatful Dead _On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe_ – MGM Film “The Harvey Girls” _Casey Junior_ – Disney Film “Dumbo” _On The Twentieth Century_ – Broadway musical “On The Twentieth Century” _John Henry (Was A Steel-Drivin’ Man)_ – Traditional. And I love the song “City of New Orleans” too, especially the earlier, more evocative non-PC version\*. And the best rendition of it was sung by Pete Seegar and Arlo Guthrie in a “Live In Concert” album. \*The line “and freightyards full of old black men” which paints a picture got changed in at least the (dreadful) John Denver cover to something like “and freightyards full of old grey men” or something similar. (which says "I’m afraid to use the word “black”) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/36 "2006-04-30T21:36:50Z")
\*L.A. proved too much for the man So he’s leavin’ the life he’s come to know He said he’s goin’ back to find what’s left of his world The world he left behind not so long ago He’s leavin’ on that midnight train to Georgia Said he’s goin’ back to find the simpler place and time I’ll be with him on that midnight train to Georgia I’d rather live in his world than live without him in mine \* The most unusual trip I ever took was on the Amtrak from Seattle to Minneapolis during Christmas vacation. It was replete with guitar singers, drunks, fistfights, loose women, and a guy who overdosed. What a weird ride that was. . . ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/37 "2006-05-01T00:36:04Z")
_You Wonder Why I’m a Hobo_ - trad. _Waiting for the ‘B’ Train_ - Christine Lavin _Alabama Bound_ - trad. _Corey’s Coming_ - Harry Chapin (Well, it’s a train yard - that’s close enough, right?) _This Train Revised_ - Indigo Girls _Southbound Train_ - Julie Gold _This Train_ - trad. _Hard Travelin’_ - trad. Just a few. **gabriela** , great story! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/38 "2006-05-01T00:40:49Z")
> [@beebee](#): > > NEVER mention bob dylan and an arlo guthrie song in the same breath. it’s sacriledge or blasphemy or something. Oh, well. To me an ‘oldie’ is by The Sex Pistols. I’m not up on the really mouldy ones. Anyway… _Homeward Bound_, Simon & Garfunkel ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/39 "2006-05-01T00:54:41Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Oh, well. To me an ‘oldie’ is by The Sex Pistols. I’m not up on the really mouldy ones. Ya don’t get mouldy until after the body’s been decomposing a while. Sorry, Arlo and Dylan don’t count. 😉 You’re just iggerent about train songs. Seriously, for about 100 years, they were the connection for this country, and there were lots of songs written during that time about them. We’ve barely touched the tip of the iceberg, here. _Chattanooga Choo-Choo_ - by all sorts of people. I don’t know if it’s a traditional one, or not. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709/40 "2006-05-01T02:54:06Z")
\*Neon signs a-flashin’, taxi cabs and buses passin’ through the night A distant moanin’ of a train seems to play a sad refrain to the night A rainy night in Georgia, such a rainy night in Georgia Lord, I believe it’s rainin’ all over the world I feel like it’s rainin’ all over the world How many times I wondered It still comes out the same No matter how you look at it or think of it It’s life and you just got to play the game I find me a place in a box car, so I take my guitar to pass some time Late at night when it’s hard to rest I hold your picture to my chest and I feel fine (minor scat) But it’s a rainy night in Georgia, baby, it’s a rainy night in Georgia I feel it’s rainin’ all over the world, kinda lonely now And it’s rainin’ all over the world\* –Brook Benton [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-morning-america-how-are-ya/354709.md?page=3)