The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #123564   Message #2723829
Posted By: Joe Offer
14-Sep-09 - 09:57 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Hell Bound Train / Hellbound (Hutchison)
Subject: ADD Version: Hellbound Train - Frank Hutchison
Good call, Rob. The Google Books snippet was from The New American Songster, compiled & edited by Charles W. Darling (University Press of America, 1983), page 263.
Here's the full text:

THE HELL BOUND TRAIN

Come all you people if you want to hear
A story about a bad engineer
Who run his train all down the road
And every car had a heavy load.

CHORUS
Jesus saves, glory hallelujah,
Jesus saves, glory will come.
Jesus saves, glory hallelujah,
Mean to work for Jesus 'til my last work's done.

Boiler was loaded with whiskey and beer
And the Devil himself was the engineer;
Everybody seemed to be happy and gay
As the Hell bound train sped on its way.

Black and yaller, and red and white,
All mixed together, it was glorious sight;
Everybody seemed to be happy and gay
As the Hell bound train sped on her way

Notes:
"The Hell Bound Train" has been collected in many different forms
from bawdy to gospel, and from people in various occupations from hing to lumberjacking. In 1928 Frank Hutchison recorded a most unusual version set to the tune of "Casey Jones." It was reissued on Rounder 1007, Frank Hutchison.

Welcome to Mudcat - I hope you'll enjoy yourself here.
-Joe Offer-