Author: I've Been Working on the Railroad

Subject: Author of I've Been working on the railroad
From:
Date: 15 Jan 97 - 04:33 PM

Hi,

Help! My daughter brought a question home and I can't find the answer:

Who is the author of "I've been woorking on the railroad" ?

One WEB site I visited said "Tommy Armstrong" and the DT's list doesn't have author's name!

Thanks for helping.

Sincerely,

Frank.

Subject: RE: Author of
From:
Date: 15 Jan 97 - 06:34 PM

In "Rise up singing" ed Peter Blood-Patterson it is not attributed to sny specific author, but the footnote says is first appeared in print in Carmina Princetonia in l894. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but perhaps it will help.

Subject: RE: Author of
From: Rimmer
Date: 22 Jan 97 - 03:55 PM

I thought "I've been working on a railroad" was a pre-civil war song, unattributable to anyone specific, but sung by African Americans during slavery.

If that is the case, then the first person who published it was only the first person to write it down as many African American songs were passed down orally instead of written.

Subject: RE: Author of
From:
Date: 22 Jan 97 - 06:30 PM

I wasn't aware that slaves were used to do railroad work. Since a large portion of the workforce used to build the early railroads were Irish, my guess is that the author(s) were probabolly Irish rail workers.

Subject: RE: Author of
From:
Date: 23 Jan 97 - 04:20 PM

In some book our family had when I was little, there was a "Levee Song" in alleged black dialect. The chorus went something like "I been wukkin' on de levee/ All de livelong day", etc., to the same tune as "I've been Working on the Railroad."

"Carmina Princetonia" means "Songs of Princeton"--presumably a songbook of favorites at Princeton College (now University).

Subject: RE: Origin: I've Been Working on the Railroad
From: GUEST,ANON
Date: 17 Nov 07 - 08:10 PM

I THOUGHT IT WAS CHINAMEN WHO HELPED BUILD RHE RAILROADS.

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I closed this thread in an attempt to avoid splitting the discussion. Please post here (click) or in one of the related threads listed in the crosslinks toward the top of this page.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-