| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
American Ballads and Folk Songs |
||
|
Oh, my baby, till he jumped de track,
Never stopped a-runnin' till he jumped de track.
On de right-hand side was a tuzzle switch, On de left-hand side was a ten-foot ditch, Fireman looked out, got ready to jump, Two locomotives here, bound to bump.
Number 3 got within a mile of the place, Number 4 stared him straight in de face, Casey tol' his fireman to keep his seat and ride, "It's a double-track * road, we're runnin' side by side."
When Casey's wife heard dat Casey was dead, She was in de kitchen, makin' up bread, She says, "Go to bed, chilluns, an' hoi' yo' breath, You'll all get a pension at yo' daddy's death."
Casey called up his wife and son,
Willed them an engine, had never been run.
When Casey's son did come of age,
Says, "Daddy's done willed me a narrow gauge." |
||
|
CASEY JONES
In 1910 0. L. Miller, mayor of Canton, Mississippi, wrote to the senior editor of this collection as follows: "Wallis Sanders is the composer of the popular song 'Casey Jones*' Casey was running between Memphis and Canton when he was killed fourteen miles north of Canton. He was a great favorite with the roundhouse men as well as all who came in contact with him. The darkey, Wallis Sanders, made the song in his own way . . . will get to singing this song
♦According to Trevelyan, Casey was drunk at the time of his famous wreck and so saw a double track where there was only a single line. |
||
|
|
||
|
[36] |
||