Rock Island Line (song)
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| "Rock Island Line" | ||
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| Cover of the Leadbelly compilation Rock Island Line: Original 1935-1943 Recordings | ||
| Song originally by Lead Belly | ||
| Recorded | 1937 | |
| Genre | Blues, Folk, Skiffle, Country | |
| Length | 2-4 minutes | |
| Label | Asch Recordings | |
| Writer(s) | Lead Belly | |
| Alternative album cover | ||
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| Johnny Cash's 1970s album, Rock Island Line | ||
"Rock Island Line" is an American blues/folk song, written and originally performed by Lead Belly in the 1930s. It memorializes the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad; versions of the song have been recorded by many other artists.
The chorus to the old song reads:
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
The Rock Island Line is the road to ride
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
If you want to ride you gotta ride it like you find it
Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line
The verses of the song tell a humorous story about a train operator who smuggled "pig iron" through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was livestock.
Contents |
[edit] History
According to Harry Lewman Music,
| “ | Lead Belly and John and Alan Lomax supposedly first heard it from [a] prison work gang during their travels in 1934/35. It was sung a cappella. Huddie sang and performed this song, finally settling on a format where he portrayed, in song, a train engineer asking the depot agent to let his train start out on the main line.[1] | ” |
- Lonnie Donegan's recording, released in 1955, signalled the start of the "skiffle" craze. Donegan "did nothing to credit Lead Belly as the author, even though he simply copied Huddie's entire arrangement".[2] However, although it only featured Donegan and a washboard player, it was officially a band recording so he made no money from it beyond his original session fee.
- Pete Seeger recorded a version of this song a cappella while he was chopping wood, to demonstrate its origins.[3]
[edit] Versions
"Rock Island Line" has been recorded by:
[edit] 1930s – 40s
- Lead Belly recorded the song at Washington, D.C. on June 22, 1937, the first of many recordings of it he made during his career, the last being recorded live at the University of Texas on June 15, 1949.[4]
"Rock Island Line" appears the Lead Belly compilation Rock Island Line: Original 1935-1943 Recordings (released 2003 [1]), among many others.
[edit] 1950s
- Lonnie Donegan - single (1955)
-
- In July 1954, Donegan recorded this fast-tempoed version of "Rock Island Line", with Chris Barber's Jazz Band, featuring "John Henry" on the B-side. It was the first debut record to go gold in Britain, and reached the top ten in the United States.
- The Weavers - The Weavers' Greatest Hits (1957) [2]
[edit] 1960s
- Stan Freberg - The Best of Stan Freberg (1963) [3]
-
- In Freberg's typical style, this is a "twisted" parody version.
- Johnny Horton - Johnny Horton on Stage (1966) [4]
[edit] 1970s
-
- This single reached #93 (US Singles Chart), and #35 (US Country chart).
[edit] 1980s
- The Knitters - Poor Little Critter on the Road (1985)
- Mano Negra - Patchanka (1988)
[edit] 1990s
- Devil in a Woodpile (with Jane Baxter Miller) - single (1999)
-
- On the album Poor Little Knitter on the Road - A Tribute to the Knitters.
[edit] 2000s
-
- A children's version recorded with the Rocket Ship Review.
- Eleven Hundred Springs - Bandwagon (2004) [8]
[edit] Trivia
- "Rock Island Line" was featured in an advert for the Vauxhall Astra Twintop and Tigra in 2006 in the UK.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "Rock Island Line" on the All Music Guide
- Oldielyrics.com, Lonnie Donegan's version of "Rock Island Line"
[edit] References
- ^ Harry Lewman Music - The Lead Belly Songbook
- ^ Ibid., Harry Lewman Music
- ^ Ibid., Harry Lewman Music
- ^ The Leadbelly Web Discography
