Old post, but don't white wash history. You do no one a favor.

The song is about who made the railroad possible,conductors engineers, etc, an institution, that was fading into memory.

But was, is the heart and soul of America being forgotten, much like those old black men in passing behind the train as it travels on.

It's not racist,just stating an observation of the era, old black men in rail yards.

Southern railroads eagerly hire black workers after the Civil War because they could pay them less than white workers.

Blacks were responsible for the Lion's share of the southern rail built and since they had experience laying rail, rail maintenance crew's were black.

In a heavly railed train yard you would have seen blacks fixing rail, switches.

Old black men, more of a reference to worn out heavy manual labor, price payed, of the men who worked the rail, that built what was there, they were riding on.

It is meant to strike a chord. It got a rise out of you.


Surprised?

You can easily find pictures of the era of all black crew's on hand carts used to transverse long distance, carrying men, rail supplies.

He includes them just as they were. Ranking them all together as equal to the cause.

That said the railroad was one of the few industries that afforded Blacks a middle class lifestyle as a Porter.

Potters were black and a decent job.

Yes it's a haunting song with references to what America was.