ON THE TRAIL OF NEGRO FOLK-SONGS

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	240	NEGRO FOLK-SONGS
	Or he may think of the railroad in terms of its relation to his sweetheart, present or absent. A song reported by Wirt A. Williams, of Mississippi, shows entrancing imagination on the part of the dusky lover. Got a train in Cairo Sixteen coaches long; All I want dat train to do Is to fotch my gal along! The colored man who was heard singing by Professor Howard Odum was a bit more ambitious. It is feared a Soviet government would disapprove of his proposed exclusiveness. Well, I'm goin' to buy me a little railroad of my own, Ain't goin' to let nobody ride it but the chocolate to the bone. "The chocolate to the bone" is the description of the brown-skinned woman with whom he is in love. The sheer mystery or the romantic suggestiveness that a train or boat possesses has a thrill for the Negro, as for everyone, of course — but in a greater degree for him. The hint of illimitable distances, of unknown objectives, of epic adventure by the way, inspires him to admiration — and to song. Mrs. Tom Bartlett sends a specimen which shows this quality. Mrs. Buie wrote out the music for it. THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN AND THE TO' DAY TRAIN