Subject: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST Date: 02 Jan 14 - 06:49 AM Some friends were discussing the fact that there are lots of songs about train in the States but few if any in the UK. Can you make any suggestions? |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: melodeonboy Date: 02 Jan 14 - 06:58 AM Old Country Train - Bob Kenward (Kent UK) |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: melodeonboy Date: 02 Jan 14 - 07:02 AM The Fireman's Song - Pete Coe |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Richard from Liverpool Date: 02 Jan 14 - 07:02 AM - Cosher Bailey had an engine, it was always needing mending... - Moses of the Mail and that's all I can think of at the moment, unless you count Poor Paddy Works on the Railway, which doesn't actually refer to trains. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Nigel Parsons Date: 02 Jan 14 - 08:40 AM Paul Simon: Homeward Bound |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Nigel Parsons Date: 02 Jan 14 - 09:02 AM Gentlemen should please refrain: Riding down from Bangor: (There is at least one N.Wales parody) Oh Mr Porter: |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Tony Elphick Date: 02 Jan 14 - 09:16 AM Lots by Dave Goulder! |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,John Foxen Date: 02 Jan 14 - 09:24 AM A whole radio ballad - The Ballad of John Axon by Ewan MacColl Slow Train by Flanders and Swann Last Train and Ride by Ralph McTell Slow burning Companion by Ralph McTell Journeyman by Jethro Tull |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Nigel Parsons Date: 02 Jan 14 - 09:50 AM Lord Belborough's song (From childrens tv show "Chigley"): Time flies by when I'm the driver of a train And I ride on the footplate, there and back again. Under bridges, over bridges, to our destination Puffing through the countryside there's so much to be seen; Passengers waving as we steam through a station, Stoke up, fireman, for the signal is at green: Time flies by when I'm the driver of a train And I ride on the footplate, there and back again. In the cutting, through the tunnel, Rushing, clanking, on the track; Wheezing pistons, smoking funnels, Turning wheels go clickety-clack: Time flies by when I'm the driver of a train And I ride on the footplate, there and back again. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Andiliqueur Date: 02 Jan 14 - 10:41 AM In a town the railway left behind they tore up all the track And it isn't hard to understand why some of us look back Back to golden age of steam when a boy knew how to dream....... Just a few lines from a song by Tom Patterson, a Geordie who now lives in Birmingham and writes great songs. I believe there is a CD pending. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Rob Naylor Date: 02 Jan 14 - 11:11 AM I see someone's already noted Bob Kenward's "Old Country Train"...a lovely song and well worth wider distribution. There's Huw Williams' "Travelling By Steam"...recorded by Fairport on "Jewel In The Crown": Travelling by Steam |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Megan L Date: 02 Jan 14 - 11:13 AM Dave Goulder black 5 |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Rob Naylor Date: 02 Jan 14 - 11:24 AM Another Dave Goulder: Requiem For Steam |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Nigel Parsons Date: 02 Jan 14 - 11:32 AM Although only a poem, mention should be made of W.H.Auden's "Night Mail" |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: bradfordian Date: 02 Jan 14 - 12:02 PM Settle to Carlisle Railway - Mike Donald Not quite train but a cracking song |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Black belt caterpillar wrestler Date: 02 Jan 14 - 04:44 PM The last train to Bacup has gone, Stanley Accrington. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Jack Campin Date: 02 Jan 14 - 06:05 PM A freind of mine went to teacher training college in Edinburgh and learned an activity to do with primary school kids - get the class to be the train from Waverley Station to North Berwick. You divide the class up into four groups and get each group to chant the name of one of the stations on the line, each of which has a different metric pattern: Edinburgh WAVerley ... EDinburgh WAVerley ... EDinburgh WAVerley ... EDinburgh WAVerley ... PREStonPANS ... PREStonPANS ... PREStonPANS ... PREStonPANS ... Drem ... Drem ... Drem ... Drem ... LongNIDDry ... LongNIDDry ... LongNIDDry ... LongNIDDry ... NORTH BERwick ... NORTH BERwick ... NORTH BERwick ... NORTH BERwick ... |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Nick Date: 02 Jan 14 - 07:43 PM The Runaway Train - one of my least favourite songs ever (right up their with the Laughing Policeman and Sparky's Magic Piano) |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 02 Jan 14 - 09:03 PM Now this one couldn't be much further removed from the American train songs - The Slow Train by Flanders and Swann And so is this one Are you right there Michael - which isn't set in what's the UK these days, but that hadn't yet been sorted out back in 1902 when Percy French wrote this. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Effsee Date: 02 Jan 14 - 09:27 PM Arthur Argo in Aberdeen used to sing a song about "Willie Lee the porter". Can't quite get the memory banks to bring forth the lyrics... |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 02 Jan 14 - 11:57 PM There's a mudcat thread about it, with the words - try Lyr Req: Willie Lee: 'I am a railway porter....' It put me in mind another one Change at Thorpe-le-Soken for Walton-on-the-Naze I heard at the late lamented Walton Folk Festival. The general colour of train songs from over here tends mostly to be self mockery tinged with nostalgia. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Erich Date: 03 Jan 14 - 02:37 AM There are at least two LPs: Dave Goulder: Requiem for Steam Big Ben Records BB 00.04 from 1973 Harry Boardman - Kempion - Jon Raven - Tony Rose: Steam Ballads, Broadside Rec, BRO 121, from 1977 Great Stuff |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Scabby Douglas Date: 03 Jan 14 - 05:06 AM A song by a good friend of mine, John McCreadie, who passed away recently. "Penny A Wish" is about travelling by train across the Forth Bridge, and the practice in days gone by, of throwing a penny from the window of the train as it crossed the bridge. A PENNY A WISH - John McCreadie When I was wee we went tae Fife every Glesga Fair Mither packed the hamper. Sent it off two weeks afore Pittenweem, St Monans, I stayed in them both But the best part of the holiday. Was crossing ower the Forth. For they would haud me up tae the windae And a penny tae me gie So that I could make a wish As the penny sailed away If the penny didny hit the bridge Wi a clatter then ye knew It had landed in the water And yer wish it would come true There wis a team of divers, at least that's what they tellt me Collected a' the pennies, for some charity Whether that wis true or not, I couldny really say But the best penny I ever spent, I mind it to this day CHORUS Noo the station's gone frae Pittenweem and all round Fife's East Neuk a man called Beeching our railways frae us took It was farewell tae the Forth Bridge: Hello to the car roof rack And we waved to you as we crossed the Forth On your wee sister's back. Nae mair wid they haud me up tae the windae And a penny tae me gie So that I could make a wish As the penny sailed away If the penny didny hit the bridge Wi a clatter then ye knew It had landed in the water And yer wish it would come true One day I'll take my bairns, we will board the train Takes us ower the Forth Bridge, just as I did as a wean These days there's nae big broon belt, tae open the windae wi But I'm sure if we try hard enough We will find a way And I'll haud them up tae the windae And a penny tae them gie So that they can make a wish As the penny sails away If the penny disny hit the bridge Wi a clatter then we'll ken That the magic still works tae this day Like it did when I wis a wean When they'd haud me up tae the windae And a penny tae me gie So that. I could make a wish As the penny sailed away If the penny didny hit the bridge Wi a clatter then ye knew It had landed in the water And yer wish it would come true |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Mark Dowding Date: 03 Jan 14 - 07:02 AM A few years ago, myself and Chris Harvey were commissioned to write a song for the Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust about "The Old Potts" Railway. I was given a load of information about the line and found a potted history on the BBC website from which I wrote the song. Chris added the chorus and the tune and we put it on our CD "The Old Potts Railway and other railway songs" The "Old Potts" Railway by Mark Dowding and Chris Harvey In the 1860s the "Old Potts" it was born But the "Big 5" wouldn't give them room – they treated it with scorn It had to build its own line and station buildings too Before it ran a service for the likes of me and you The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day Folk came from miles around to see the trains at Abbey station They rode up and down the line to view the situation From mines at Llanymynech down to Shrewsbury it ran But once the novelty wore away the company's troubles began The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day To get across the countryside, where the landscape was so mean A viaduct crossed the Severn at a place called Shrawardine The line it went through flooded land where few folk they did go Passenger numbers they were small and the trains were very slow The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day The debt collector he came in and seized a train at Foregate With negotiations been and done they started out so late He settled in a first class seat so he could mind the train And went to Llanymynech where they started back again The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day The guard he asked the gentleman if he would change his seat Into another carriage that was set aside so neat But when they stopped at Kinnerley, his coach was hauled away And that was the last of the train the debt collector saw that day The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day The company went from bad to worse the bills they couldn't pay The line fell into disrepair, the viaducts rotted away But up came Colonel Stephens, the saviour of the train And used his money to open the line and the trains ran once again The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day He ran the line with rolling stock he got from near and far An engine that was called "Gazelle" was sure to be a star The "Coffee Pot" was the smallest locomotive in the land And proved to be the biggest draw of Colonel Stephens' band The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day Again the railway failed to pay and ran into decline But in the 1940s they opened up the line To shunt munitions in and out of Kinnerley's hidden quarter But once we'd seen off Hitler, the line sank into deep water The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day And so this little railway line became condemned to die The tracks and trains and buildings joined the station in the sky But the railway that refused to die lives on in name today The ring road going round Shrewsbury is called the "Old Potts Way" The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day The Old Potts, The Old Potts has gone for good they say But the Old Potts, the Old Potts will rise again one day |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Black belt caterpillar wrestler Date: 03 Jan 14 - 07:48 AM I am a bit surprised that I can find no songs about the Bishop's Castle Railway, which was in a class of its own as regards lack of funds. It was in receivership from day one, and had various run ins withe bailiffs, rails taken up to stop the trains and then relaid in the dead of night etc. It claimed to be the oldest railway in the world because it had BC written on the coaches! |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,John Foxen Date: 03 Jan 14 - 08:05 AM The Oxford and Hampton Railway, here performed by the splendid Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer. Oxford and Hampton Railway It appears on their latest CD Red House |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Richard from Liverpool Date: 03 Jan 14 - 08:37 AM Hmm, just remembered, there's Billy Connolly's "Last Train to Glasgow Central" (which features the wonderful words "And on the train goin' hame, I was hidin' in the lavvie when the ticket man came", surely a situation many of us have been in) |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: MGM·Lion Date: 03 Jan 14 - 08:59 AM Ewan MacColl's "Shuttle & Cage" 1954 collection for the WMA of 'Industrial Fok-Ballads' contains two versions of Poor Paddy Works on the Railway, Moses of the Mail, The Fireman's Not For Me, Cosher Bailey's Engine, The Iron Horse. ~M~ |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST Date: 03 Jan 14 - 11:55 AM Nigel Parsons mentioned Auden's Night Mail and noted that it's "only a poem" Thanks to the rather wonderful 'Public Service Broadcasting' it has a tune now: youtube.com/watch?v=WFJPYi3JXw4 There's also Eliza Carthy's Train Song and suprised that no-one has mentioned Pete Morton's Another Train |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: MGM·Lion Date: 03 Jan 14 - 12:34 PM '"Slow Train" is a song by the British duo Flanders and Swann, written in 1963. It laments the loss of British stations and railway lines in that era due to the Beeching cuts, and also the passing of a way of life, with the advent of motorways etc.' Wikipedia ~M~ |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Ian Hendrie Date: 03 Jan 14 - 01:25 PM I have in my possession the following book : Sounds Like Folk No.2 - The Railways in Song Published by EDFS Copyright 1973 (It cost me 30p when I bought it!) Contents : Cosher Bailey's Engine (Trad) Queen Victoria's First Railway Journey (Muriel Holland & Jim Parker) Steam Train (Mike Donald) The Strap Hanger Brigade (John M Garrett) Night Express North Bound (Christopher Rowe) The Iron Horse Paddy Works On The Railway George Hudson - The Railway King (Sydney Martin) The Whitby to Scarborough Line (Christopher Rowe) The London Underground The Runaway Engine (Sydney Martin) The Oxford and Hampton Railway There is music and notes accompanying each song. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Ian Hendrie Date: 03 Jan 14 - 01:36 PM Giant's Causeway Tram by Colum Sands That is if you're not going to split hairs regarding trains and trams. They both run on a rail way after all! |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,henryp Date: 03 Jan 14 - 06:35 PM Here is the driver, Mr. MacIver, Who drove the train to Glasgow. The Train to Glasgow Words by Wilma Horsburgh, music by Cilla Fisher Performed by The Singing Kettle |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Lori Date: 02 Jan 24 - 09:38 PM Does anyone remember the words to a song that begins with: The Great North British Railway Stretching forward tae the sea Has built the finest wonder o' the day and then there's a part near the end that goes: Thirteen spans of brick and steel and tortured railway track And a train that's destined ne'er to reach Dundee. The song was on a vinyl record that I had in the 70s. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,Lori Date: 02 Jan 24 - 09:50 PM Hello again, The song was called 13 Spans of Steel and the group is Gaberlunzie, made up of Jack Marshall on bass, Donald Marshall on drums and Robbie Menzies on guitar and vocals. (I still have the album.) |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST Date: 03 Jan 24 - 08:29 AM Train song- Vashti Bunyan |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST Date: 03 Jan 24 - 10:33 AM A bit more extensive treatment of the West Clare Rsilroad song: Are you right there Michael.. documentary And no, nothing to do with UK trains. Love the Giant Causeway Tram, by the way, especially the version by David Hammond, Donal Lunny and Jackie Dsly. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: GUEST,BlackAcornUK Date: 03 Jan 24 - 11:07 AM Came here to say the Harry Boardman / Tony Rose / Jon Raven 'Steam Ballads' LP, but I see it was already mentioned 10 years ago! As an aside, has anyone ever checked out the 'Folk Train' journeys that run between Manchester and Sheffield? |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: DaveRo Date: 03 Jan 24 - 11:43 AM There was a 3-hour BBC radio programme of train songs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000sjsj Not currently available, but there's a tracklist ;) There's also mention here of "East Coast Racer" by Big Big Train (a rock ballad about Mallard's record run.) Hmmm. And this is great: Jackie & The Comuters - Day Trip From Barnhurst There's a Mudcat thread about it. That probably sounds familiar to passengers between Manchester and Sheffield! |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler Date: 03 Jan 24 - 02:49 PM The late Pat Robson wrote a song about his journey to work. I had the words from him at a concertina weekend. THE COMMUTER. Commuting to the city, by the early train, On a weekday morning, what a bloody game. Every seat is taken, the toilet packed as well, Standing room is crowded, it’s a sort of mobile hell. Someone right behind me, another at my side, They got on at Winchfield, welcome to the ride. More squeeze in at Brockwood, another comes from Fleet, He’s standing just in front of me and treading on my feet. It’s costing me a fortune to join this daily crush. I stand here uncomplaining, the early morning rush. Never in my lifetime have I found a vacant seat, But the train has been repainted and it really looks a treat. Not much else has altered, the train gives several jerks, Pulling out of Woking you can almost see in spurts. Walton, Hersham, Esher, then Suburbiton, To pick up other suckers for whom life is not much fun. Then it’s on to Clapham, where more come squeezing in. Somewhere a kid is yelling and kicking up a din. In the end we get there and people fall out fast. Now the toilet’s empty I can have a pee at last. Down into the subway, standing all the way, Getting to the office, trying to make it pay. When the day is over, what a bloody curse, I’ve got to face it all again, but this time in reverse. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Ian Hendrie Date: 03 Jan 24 - 04:55 PM Dave Goulder has recently loaded many of his train songs onto the YouTube channel 'Songs of History'. |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: Sarah the flute Date: 03 Jan 24 - 06:18 PM Les Barker - trains of Waterloo Brilliant parody |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: sian, west wales Date: 04 Jan 24 - 06:14 PM There is a Welsh train song, sung by Dr Meredydd Evans on the collection album "Mered", titled "Trip i Aberystwyth". Mi es i ryw ddiwrnod Yng nghwmni f'annwyl Jane Am drip i Aberystwyth Yn yr excursion tre^n. Tra di di, yr adar ma^n, Tra di di, yr adar ma^n. (I went one day with my dear Jane On an excursion train to Aberystywth. Tra dee dee, the little birds, Tra dee dee, the little birds.) Over the course of the 6 verses, he treats Jane to brown ale and bread; a lad calls by while he's giving Jane 'a cuddle' who ends up going off with Jane. Not a good day out and he came home feeling as tired as his great grandfather. The rail line was opened to Aberystwyth in 1867 so the song is no older than 150 yrs ish. I imagine that there are English songs reflecting the new day-trip tourism craze for the lower classes. sian, west wales |
Subject: RE: songs about Trains in the UK From: matthewdechant Date: 09 Jan 24 - 08:34 PM The Song of the Iron Road by Ewan MacColl! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfxLF97IdeE |
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