“GANDY” was the name of the company that made the tools they used. Especially the long prypole for moving the already laid rails. “lining track”, for aligning the rails.
btw lining track and gandy dancing are euphimisms in a lot of old shanties and blues songs.
" Down on the Brazos in 19 and 10,
Cap’n drives the women as hard as the men, shake it! unh!" etc.
and " Cap went to Sugahlan’, aint coming back,so now me an’ his missus is linin the track"
" Pardon me while I have a strange interlude."-Marx (Melissa Gilbert is in the rest room right now or she would have a snappy comeback)
Drove from Chicago to San Diego, through Texas, once – the Panhandle – Lubbock. Nothing there. Once was enough. Actually, as far as I’m concerned, you can take the whole Midwest and dump it in space somewhere – make it easier to get from one coast to the other.
Ah swun…you do go on…you make me laugh, so I hesitate to admit this to you…but, being an actual (not many of us out here)born and mostly bred Californian…after all my travels, this is definately the place for me. However…
One of the things I miss tremendously are the old tent revivals (or is that a time warp problem?) (and please, this is not a religious thing…if you haven’t been to one, you will probably miss my reference).
Also, that evahbodeh has a stahm cellah (natchly havin’ to use it alluhs scared the daylihts outta me). And of course, that down home feelin’ you git when yuh put own yer Sundy go tuh meetin’s and go callin’ (down the road apiece). Ah preshate countrah livin’ but I show don’t miss 'em chiggahs or whut we lovinleh caulled “dustuhs” in Lubbuck.
Having a father born in KS and raised mostly in OK/and a mother and sister-in-law from TX. I have always made it a policy to stay out of the debate between you and Doobie; but I’m loving listening to this very familiar litany.
Zyada–I lived in Ft. Wuth (boy, I can’t even do that pronunciation dialectically–what do you and mrj. think?.–IIRC Ft. is pert nere it’s own syllable.) Anyways, I lived there WAY BACK in the late 50’s–there used to be a great place called “The Clock”, you know, with carhops and all–whoops another time warp!!
SOOOOO-to the original thread…My uncle has told me all the same things: TX. is/was the friend of the hobo and also what was said about the dangerous element. “True hoboes are pretty peaceful folk, just tryin’ to git frum hyuh to thar…them thet ride the rails t’day is sumthin’ else.” Uncle Les, King of the Hoboes.
Lew
“Man, the 60’s must have been real good for you!”
George Carlin…“Outrageous Fortune”
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”
Dorothy…“The Wizard of Oz”
LEW FOTEwuhth is as close as I can come stress on FOTE as if you were making a distinction from other worths, but said qwick no break between the words, and some kinda asspiration in the middle of worth. Lots a folks still have fraidy holes and still have good ol sin shoutins. Most times you gotta pay to such goin ons. But be careful the chiggurs’ll git yur ankles good. If you were in Lubbock in the 50’s you probably remember seein New Mexico coming for a visit. I was growing up in Amarillo then and some times the western sky was as black as the inside of satan’s saddle bag. Women folk runnin around stuffin damp towels around the winders n doors.
nuff for now I’ll get back to you, nano,I agree drivin north to south thru the panhandle can be a real drag
Sherman (cursed be his name) once said,
" If I owned Texas and Hell ,I’d live in Hell and rent out Texas." Kinda thing you’d expect from him, aspiring to be a non-resident landlord.Hanging out down there with all his cronies collecting exhorbitent rents.
>>sorry to be back so soon, but rjk, bindlestiff reminded me of ‘gandy dancer’ for some reason… And if any body knows any more words to this old chanty ( I spelled it right, it’s pronounced ‘shanty’) Cap’n caint read,
Cap’n caint write,
how’s he gonna tell,
if the track’s laid right? >>mrjohn
If you ever get a chance to see The Buckingham Lining-Bar Gang, do not miss it.
They are a terrific group of now-elderly African-Americans from Buckingham, VA, who have formed a lining-bar gang to entertain and educate at county fairs and rail events and to keep the oral tradition of the lining-bar gang alive. About 2/3 of them worked for various railroads, including the C&O, on lining-bar gangs, the others are friends who have picked up the tradition from them.
They steal the show wherever they appear. They actually set rail and perform traditional lining-bar gang worksongs and chanties. They prefer not to be called “gandy dancers” – they claim that in their experience that referred mainly to workers who tamped the ballast around the ties, not the lining bar gang itself.
once said,