One verse of “Wabash Cannonball” goes:
Here’s to Daddy Claxton, may his name forever stand,
Will he be remembered through parts of all our land?
His earthly race is over, the curtain 'round him falls,
We’ll carry him home to vict’ry on the Wabash Cannonball.
Well, okay, sorry, Mr. Claxton, but your name did not forever stand, even if you were real. Does anyone have any idea who the verse refers to, or was inspired by, or if this person is as fictional as the train?
Wow!
You’e asked a great one.
I always associated the song with Roy Acuff and thought Dadday Claxton was a Tennessee politician.
Now that you’ve raised the question it appears that this old hobo song varies the spelling of Claxton (some lyrics start with a K) and some lyrics pitch out Claxton and replace him with Boston Blackey, who’s name also doesn’t stand.
I’m waiting with you for an answer.
You might get some good info from http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/introjs.htm?/~acsa/songfile/WABASH.HTM
I can find a newspaper cite from 1889 talking about the Wabash cannonball(old no. 1), but it wasn’t an “ocean to ocean” train.
The cite above says the Carter’s version, recorded first in 1927, used Daddy Cleaton ,and Roy Acuff, in his classic and commercially more popular version a few years later, changed it to “Claxton.” Possibly from the name of a relative of his.
Fascinating background information, Doug and Sam, thanks. I had no idea that there were Deadheads so dedicated that a song they did *once * would get so deep an investigation. Acuff’s use of his mother’s name makes sense, but that only changes the question to “Who might ‘Daddy Cleaton’ have been referring to?”
That’s the fun of folk songs, isn’t it? Since there’s no original, traceable version, the words can be whatever you want them to be. If not for the Lomaxes, we would only have A.P. Carter to thank for appropriating every song he ever heard.
Do a search on “Claxton.” I’m pretty sure I responded to a thread like this about a year ago. I think it was at the SDMB. Claxton was not only his mother’s name is was his middle name, as well–Roy Claxton Acuff.
Acuff added several verses to the song, not all of which were recorded. In those verses, we learn that Daddy Claxton was the train’s engineer.
Acuff’s first recording of this song did not feature him on vocals–one of his band members sang it, while Auff provided “train noises.” Once it became such a standard (I believe he closed each session of The Grand Ol’ Opry with it), Acuff began doing the vocals.
Sir Rhosis
I personally think that the Carter version(1927) is THE original song. The lyrics may have been stolen in part from the 1800’s song “Uncle Sam’s Farm”
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but I think there was NO folksong sung by hobos, which mentioned the Wabash Cannonball. That’s just my opinion.
I’d love to know WHEN Lomax recorded his “Boston Blackey” version. It would have to be in the late teens or twenties-thirties, and my guess is after the Carter version. If it was earlier, then I’ll revise my thinking.
All of the fast trains mentioned in the Carter’s version started life in the 1890’s, and were still running in the late 20’s-early 30’s.
It’s my understanding that there was no such train as the Wabash Cannon Ball until the early 1950’s - 1970. The train run was named for the song. It seems that in its original The Wabash Cannon Ball was like the Chariot to carry you to heaven, somewhat like Lloyd-Weber’s “Starlight Express.”
For the record, I’m 72, “Wabash” has always been one of my favorites. I thought it referred to a real train. Thanks to the internet I learned “a new trick.”
Frank