From the notes by Norm Cohen to Train 45 (Rounder Records):

Lew Childre's (1901-1961) voyeuristic RIDING THE ELEVATED TRAIN is based on an 1878 composition originally titled "Riding on the Elevated Railroad" by minstrel performer Sam Devere. It appeared in several pocket songsters of the early 1880s. But except for the chorus, Childre's lyrics are almost entirely different: only the couplets about the baby trying to bite its doggy's tail and the dog chasing the cat around are traceable to the 1878 version. Alabama-born Childre started adulthood on a path toward the medical profession, but got sidetracked while in college and in 1923 began his musical career as a singer in a local tent show, followed shortly by a stint with his own jazz band. Within a few years he turned to the fledgling country music idiom, and during the 1930s and '40s was one of the most popular entertainers in the field. Though he was widely known through his radio work, he made few recordings during his career. He recorded "Riding the Elevated Train" in 1951, with Grady Martin (guitar) and Tommy Jackson (fiddle).

The sheet music for Riding on the elevated railroad / by Sam Devere (Boston: Blake, Chas. M., 1885) is at American Memory.

~Masato