Tried to locate our subject, or his train, in our 'typical lyric' narrative and the hypothesis has come off the rails instead: Versions vary widely; most contain a verse something like this: "Reuben had a train and he put it on the track..." It's MIA in my entire pre-1960s folk scare discography. To be clear, I'm not talking about instrumentals or song titles, just the critical lyric. Somewhere between the early 1960s Ashley - Watson Folkways recordings or Ash Grove, LA concerts and the Earl Scruggs Grand Ol' Opry routines. I'm not sure which just yet. From there it's The Dillards (1963) and Holy Modal Rounders (1964) near simultaneous releases. For some reason it got left off The Darlings' covers on The Andy Griffith Show.
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