Here are the lyrics for the Blue Water Line sung as sung by Ted and Herb Hyman at house parties in St. Louis during the 1960's folk revolution. It has the standard Brothers Four verses plus some others that sound authentic, but I have no idea where they came from. The other verses make the train into something of a folk hero. I have not seen these verses anyplace else so I decided it is worth posting this version. I have an mp3 recording of them doing it at a party in 1968, I can email it to anyone who wants it. My email is drusher [at] swbell.net BLUE WATER LINE City Council met last night, the vote was four to three To burn the home town depot down and build a factory To take that piece of history and wipe it off the map To take old engine number nine and melt it into scrap Blue Water, Blue Water, Blue Water Line Blue Water, Blue Water, Blue Water Line If you can't afford a quarter then you oughta give a dime If everybody gave then we could save the Blue Water Line Well I could tell you stories about the men who rode that train About the 49er miners and how old Jesse James Stole a thousand golden nuggets in the 'Great Train Robbery' And how Abe Lincoln rode along with Tad upon his knee Just twenty thousand quarters and forty thousand dimes The we all could ride to glory on the old Blue Water Line We'll have William Jennings Bryan shoveling coal on Number Nine So dig inside your pockets for the old Blue Water Line When the river overflooded and the homes were washed away How they gathered at the station on that momentous day There was cheering, there was shouting, some was on their knees and crying As food and medication arrived on Engine Number Nine I remember the forest fire back in 1938 40 men trapped in the forest and death would be their fate Oh the railroad bridge was burning, yet we had to save that crew What a glorious reception when Number Nine came rolling through We got 40 thousand quarters, and 80 thousand dimes So we painted up the Depot like it was in olden times And now every Sunday morning everybody's dressed so fine Arriving in the station on Engine Number Nine
|