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I Got My Learnin' From The L&N

by John Paul Wright

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John Henry 2006 JP “rufus porter” to all my brothers and sisters in The BLE&T and The UTU! Well John Henry he was a locomotive engineer Workin' down in the Osborn bowl. And he looked at his switchman said you Better git to work. We’re gonna beat that RCO. Gonna beat that RCO! Yankin’ and a Pullin’ on them cars with his Switchman working as fast as he can. Ol’ John is a thinkin the whole time, A Machine aint gonna beat a man. A machine aint gonna beat a man. Well the groundhoggers came out of the shanty And they looked at the 6022. Said to each other as they switched on their boxes, Ya know we got a lotta work to do Ya know we got a lotta work to do. The groundhoggers were havin a little problem They couldn’t get their boxes to link up. Between a poll off-line and a comm loss, They wer’nt having a very good time. Seems like it happens everytime. Well the groundhoggers hollerd at the bowl. BOWL TOWR We’re havin a problem linkin up. We’ve tried everything we know how to do. I guess we’re shit outta luck I guess we’re shit outta luck. The tower hollers to John Henry. Come and get this engine outta the way It’s blockin the East and we gotta pull some cars, I guess we’ll convert one today, It seems like its better that way. The groundhoggers sat in the shanty, Waitin for a Big E to come and git er done. John Henry and his switchman allready pulled 300 cars That RCO job pulled none. But it’s safer when you sit on your bum. There is a reason for this story, Corporate greed is killin this land. If we don’t do something and ORGANIZE. Say hello to the ONE MAN PLAN. That’s talkin Union! They wanna run trains with one man. Roll the Union on!!
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Nashville Bound S. Fentress & J. Wright (From Music for Modern Railroaders) (CHORUS) I got a 2-hour call for a train at 3 Nashville bound is where i'll be walk in the bedroom is where they lay 5 ,3 , and 1 on the way Ready to go and grips are packed, 12 hours down and 12 hours back. Laid up in a hotel till the next day- to waste another 12 hours away! CHORUS Sun, sleet, snow, or rain You can bet you’ll find me on a train! Workin” my days away- carrying a picture to ease the pain. CHORUS Days go by and holidays pass, watchin my kids grow up fast. Livin’ a hard life on the road, never knowing when I have to go. CHORUS Daddy will you be here when I wake up? As I open the door his head pops up, no, the railroad called and I have to go. I love you see you when I get home…
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Hub Engineer 02:57
Hub Engineer (Music For Modern Railroaders) Sometimes they call me for the Tex ass, Sometimes they call me for the Short-line, Sometimes up to Washington, sometimes, They call me for that ol’ Mainline! (Chorus) Over here, Over There! And sometimes over there. Over here, Over There, I’m a hub Engineer. I don’t know where I’m goin’! or where I’ve been! or where I might go next- (CSX Calling…) but I got four boards to get displaced from, so Who’s cryin’ .. What the heck! (Chorus) 618 miles of track, not counting the return trip back. The ups and the downs and the feet between… Horray! Here we go pack a sack. (Chorus)
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Railroad Man 03:55
Railroad Man JPW 2009 I can sit right here for hours, or I can pull 10000 tons! I know all the backways into everything and i'll be here to get the job done. I am a railroad man a railroad man, riding up on the train. I’m a railroad man, a railroad man! Doing my part to move this land! I’m the one blowin’ that lonesome whistle! Can't you hear those steel rails whine. They are singing a song of yesterday, as we go on down the line! You might have heard of some of my friends? Casey Jones and that ol Sim Webb or you might have heard of ol John Henry! He’s’ the man that drove that steam drill down.
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Nashville Star JPW for Shannon Lawson 2009 (Born Union) I’m sitting down Here in Nashville and There ain’t nothin’ on T.V. And I’m watching these country musicians but they don’t look a thing like me. Well I don't have a 5 o clock shadow, And I don't wear pressed Blue Jeans and My boots don't shine like the stars in the sky, well if that’s country then that’s not me. I wake up early in the morning and Drive through the traffic of the day. Well my Limo may not be very fancy, but this ol truck has been good to me. I’m to old to be an American Idol, But to my wife I’m her Nashville star. My son runs my fan club. Thank you fans where ever you are. I have never owned a cowboy hat. Just this Ball cap, just the same. I’m from Kentucky, not Tennessee! And all that sparkle and glitter looks like Beverly Hills to me! Well this thing I’m tryin’ to say I think country has gone away. I would rather be listening to that ol County music like my dad and my uncles used to play.
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Hobo Life 05:26
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Casey Jones the Union Scab 2013 JP Wright X378252 Fellow workers on the railroad get your head outta the sand, about ifin when they gonna run one man. Because there's a union culture of scabbery, between the UTU and The BLE-t. [ Chorus ] Casey Jones, There's a lot of them around. Casey Jones won't put the reverser down! Casey Jones gonna stick it to me and you... When they start runnin’ trains with a one man crew. This is the way Mr. Debs said it would be, if we kept up with jurisdiction scabbery. The carriers have it just the way they like, with over 13 unions just ichin’ for a fight! Back in the day, well we should have merged and i'm here to tell ya we were on the verge, of organizin' a union with incredible might, but now all we have is a terrible plight. Casey Jones was in the UTU-e. Casey said screw the BLE! If you don't know what I'm talkin about- Better study up on our history! The BLE, well they were afraid too., with the GCA committees screamin' what are we gonna do? So they got together and fired their president, and that's just a little of how the story went! [ Chorus ] Engineer, Conductor, Train Service Employee, Utility road positions, a blurrin of craft autonomy! Railroads have been thinkin years ahead. and our unions seem to be playin dead! Casey say's "they won't run one man! The FRA and unions are gonna make a stand!" but they used to have 5 and now they got 2, when they sold us out and sidetracked the caboose! [ Chorus ] Well the conductors will say to Casey "won't you help us win the fight," but he will say "you better go take a hike" You stole my job with that RCO, And if the telephone rings off to work i'll go. [ Chorus ] Most of us say that we should all be in one, and that's a task that must be done! You better straighten up and open your eyes! ain't nothin gonna happen unless we ORGANIZE!
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Dad’s Last Ride for Ron, Utah and Duncan 2012 (Singing To The Choir) (Chorus) I’m just here to take my dad’s last ride He let the starlight on the rails, get in his eyes. He never felt good, just hanging around. Because that lonesome whistle was his favorite sound. Hey, hey conductor who is your engineer? If his name is Red, I have a story he needs to hear! And if he asks , Oh, I’m just an old Hobo. And the son of someone that he used to know. We sat there a talkin’ as the sage brush blew by. Ridin’ the rails under a clear Nevada sky. Talking about my father and a good friend, The spirit Utah Phillips is riding the rails again. He told me you had asked him to hop your train and ride, And how he wished he’d done that before he died. He said that was one thing that he had always ment to do, So he sent me down to take the ride with you. He rode the railroads and traveled this land. Collecting stories about a many a man. Before he died he told me to make this trip. And now he’s gone he’s packed his last grip..so..
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Oh, You Railroad Men… 2014 Or.. I told you so.. said Mr. Debs… I hear that lonesome whistle blowing.. by that computer driven train… I hear the lonesome whistle blowing.. on that one man train.. the unions fought a dangerous battle.. and on that battle field they died.. While the rank and file message went unheeded.. railroaders hang your head and cry.. The politician’s all rode the train… That went down burning in the ditch.. Casey Jones was at the throttle… While Eugene V. was standin at the switch… Ol Casey he didn’t listen.. he ran right through And made a bet.. that he would be the last man standin’ and a broke retirement was all that he would get… Ol Casey made a career of hidin’ Democracy from his members eyes.. But the rank and file they… knew the answer, But his pen wrote crazy lullabies.. And his members.. whoo’ed by his sweetness.. Spun their wheels in the Democrat party’s pies… The railroads they laughed on the way to the courthouse, And laws they started to run like water through loopholes. And the moral of this sad sad story.. Jurisdiction squabbles, were always the unions woes..
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The Princess That I Love 2014 for Tiecoura First we cross the Cumberland River and we’re leaving Nashville town. We are riding, 8000 horses and we are northbound. (Chorus) I’m singin’ about the princess that I love some folks know her as the ol’ railroad. We’re as lonesome as can be, down in Tennessee just a gazin’ at the starlight on the rails. Now we’re back down on the Cumberland River a clear block and we’re Louisville bound. Round the curve with the wheels just a singin’ steel on steel, oh what a beautiful sound. (Chorus) I’ve got it throttled in notch 8 can’t you hear that lonesome whistle blow. Up to Amqui, that’s where we’re goin’ the old L&N station that Cash, he used to own.
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Railroaded 05:06
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about

Most of the tunes on this collection started out as ideas that were transferred to my paper work as I drove a train from Louisville to Nashville. Railroading can be a poetically romantic job. Railroading is part of our American experience and people love the idea of “The Railroad.” I had a wonderful career and met some of the most wonderful folks in my days rolling straight down the center of Kentucky.

One of the first questions you get asked when get "hired on" at the Railroad is “What did you do before ya come out here?” This question for me was something I didn’t really know how to answer. Well, I was an Artistic Director of a Christian Arts organization slash Dishwasher slash African Djembe player slash community organizer. I brought all those experiences and more to a new job. Not only was this a job, I was being introduced to an entire culture.

A culture that has its own music, language and history. I like to say that If Americana was a quilt, then Railroad Music is the thread. The Word “qwirk” is a term used to describe a person’s stitch in a quilt. So trust me “The Railroad” has it’s quirks about it.

The tunes are mostly in the folk music style of G C and D. “I throw in an F to impress the girls.” I believe Hank Williams Sr. said that. My father Joe Wright suggests that Jimmie Rodgers tunes are supposed to be played in C, so… strum accordingly.

I wanted to throw a few tunes out there and tell the stories behind them. Folk musicians are somewhat part reporter, part historian, part folklorist. That is what I love about folk music! There are big stories behind the tunes. The story is important. Historically Speaking! What is your story?

credits

released July 14, 2017

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John Paul Wright Louisville, Kentucky

John Paul Wright is a community organizer, union organizer / Labor Singer and Djembe player. Working Locomotive Engineer and Folk Musician.. a man of many hats..

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