THE WRECK OF OLD 97

1. `Twas the 27th day in the month of September,
The clouds were hangin' low,
When Old 97 pulled out from Washington
Like an arrow shot from a bow.

2. Well, the Old 97 was the fastest mail-train
The Southland had ever seen;
Well, she run the road from Boston down to Washington,
Through Jackson, down to New Orleans.

3. Joseph Broady kissed his loving wife
About the rising of the sun;
And he said to his children, "God bless you all;
Your father must go the run."

4. Yes, Old 97 was the fastest train
To run that Southern line,
But when she pulled in to Monroe, Virginia
She was forty-seven minutes behind.

5. Well, they handed up his orders down in Monroe, Virginia,
Saying, "Joe, you're way behind time;
This is not Thirty-Eight, but it's Old 97 -
You must put her into Spencer on time."

6. Joseph Broady was the engineer -
A mighty brave man was he;
But many brave men have lost their lives
To the railroad company.

7. Yes, Broady was the engineer
On that fatal Sunday eve;
And his fireman leaned out from the cab at Lynchburg,
Just waiting for the signal to leave.

8. Well, they gave him the signal, and he threw back the throttle,
Although the air was bad;
And the people said, when he passed Franklin Junction
You couldn't see the man in the cab.

9. He turned 'round and said to his black and dusty fireman:
"Shovel on a little more coal,
And when we cross that White Oak Mountain
You're gonna see Old 97 roll."

10. Then Broady said to his trusty fireman:
"Don't obey the whistle nor the bell,
I'll pull Old 97 into Spencer, North Carolina
Or I'll sink 'er in the bottom pits of hell."

11. It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg down to Danville,
And there lies a three-mile grade;
It was on that mountain that he lost his air-brakes,
You can see what a jump he made.

12. He was goin' down grade, makin' ninety miles or better,
When his whistle broke into a scream;
He was found in the wreck, with his hand upon the throttle,
And scalded to death by the steam.

13. Yes, Old 97 was the fastest mail train
The Southern had ever seen;
But on that fatal Sunday evening
Her death list. . . it numbered thirteen.

14. Well, the news came in on the telegraph wire,
And this is what it said:
"The brave, brave man who left Monroe, Virginia,
Is lyin' down in North Danville - dead.

15. Now, all you ladies, you must take warning,
From this time now and on,
Never speak harsh words to your true lovin' husband -
He may leave you, and never return.

Another verse, designed primarily to show the similarity between this song and "The Ship That Never Returned" might be inserted between verses 14 and 15, and goes like this:

Did she ever pull in? No, she never pulled in,
And her time was due at one;
But for hours and hours the dispatch was waiting
For the fastest train ever run.

(This is a 1972 composite version by Paul Shue, based on Tom Rush's version and
information from the book "Old 97," by Pat Fox, October l972)
From "Scalded to Death By the Steam," Lyle

DT #634
Laws G2
@train @death @railroad @wreck
filename[ WRECK973
Tune file : WRECK97
SN PP JRO
Apr01