REUBEN'S TRAN, 45 TRAIN ....
民歌與民謠的內容常以描繪民間事物為題, 多源自耳聞, 口述或傳言成曲而流行, 所以很難找岀它的原作者或岀處, 一首1909年作者不詳的 "小提琴 Violin" 與 "五弦琴 Banjo" 樂譜 "Reuben's Train" 至另一首民歌 "Train 45", 由兩者而啓發靈感, 繼而撰寫成多首同義而不同演譯的民歌作品 100 Miles, 900 Miles 500 Miles, I'm Nine Hundred Miles Away From Home .....
REUBEN'S TRAIN - VIOLIN & BANJO
REUBEN'S TRAIN- THE DILLARDS
Oh Reuben made a train & he put it on a track
He ran it to the Lord knows where
Oh me, oh my ran it to the Lord knows where
Should been in town when Reuben's train went down
You could hear that whistle blow 100 miles
Oh me, oh my you could hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Last night I lay in jail had no money to go my bail
Lord how it sleeted & it snowed
Oh me, oh my Lord how it sleeted & it snowed
I've been to the East, I've been to the West
I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Oh me, oh my I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Oh the train that I ride is 100 coaches long
You can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Oh me, oh my you can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
I got myself a blade, laid Reuben in the shade,
I'm startin' me a graveyard of my own.
Oh, me, oh lordy my, startin' me a graveyard of my own.
He ran it to the Lord knows where
Oh me, oh my ran it to the Lord knows where
Should been in town when Reuben's train went down
You could hear that whistle blow 100 miles
Oh me, oh my you could hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Last night I lay in jail had no money to go my bail
Lord how it sleeted & it snowed
Oh me, oh my Lord how it sleeted & it snowed
I've been to the East, I've been to the West
I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Oh me, oh my I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow
Oh the train that I ride is 100 coaches long
You can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
Oh me, oh my you can hear the whistle blow 100 miles
I got myself a blade, laid Reuben in the shade,
I'm startin' me a graveyard of my own.
Oh, me, oh lordy my, startin' me a graveyard of my own.
TRAIN 45 - GRAYSON & WHITTER - 1927 VERSION
TRAIN 45 - WOODY GUTHRIE - 1944
The train I ride on is a hundred couches long,
you can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.
If that train runs right, I'll be home tomorrow night,
cause I'm nine hundred miles from my home
and I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.
I'm walkin down the track I got tears in my eyes,
tryin to read a letter from my home.
If that train runs right, I'll see my woman same that night,
cause I'm nine hundred miles from my home
and I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.
The train I ride on is a hundred couches long,
you can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.
If that train runs right, I'll be home tomorrow night,
cause I'm nine hundred miles from my home
and I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.
I'm walkin down the track I got tears in my eyes,
tryin to read a letter from my home.
If that train runs right, I'll see my woman same that night,
cause I'm nine hundred miles from my home
and I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.