Lyr/Chords Add: Blue Water Line (Graf & Seligson)

Subject: Blue Water Line
From:
Date: 17 Aug 02 - 08:42 PM

Hi Everyone, I remember my sister's friends playing Blue Water Line (Kingston Trio) outside on our lawn in the early 1970's and would love to have the chords to it. I found the lyrics on Mudcat (THANKS!!) but need the chords. I would love to surprise her (and my whole family) with that song. HELP!!

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Sorcha
Date: 18 Aug 02 - 02:25 PM

I can't help with chords, but wasn't it Brothers Four?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Genie
Date: 18 Aug 02 - 03:57 PM

I have the words and chords but no quick way to post them. I emailed a friend who can do that easily, if he gets my email quickly.

If no one else posts them later today, I will transcribe them from my lyric/chord sheet tonight or tomorrow.

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From:
Date: 18 Aug 02 - 07:03 PM

Hey Genie! That would be great! Also I think Sorcha is right - that it WAS The Brothers Four - which I learned after surfing and after I posted on the forum. Also, if transcribing it is too much, maybe you could email me (my address is above)and you could snailmail it to me or something.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: GUEST,RE: BROTHERS FOUR CD
Date: 18 Aug 02 - 09:32 PM

among other CDS/LPS - is on their Greatest Hits

BROTHERS FOUR GREATEST HITS CD

01 - Greenfields
02 - Yellow Bird
03 - Goodnight Irene
04 - Jamaica Farewell
05 - The Green Leaves Of Summer
06 - Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
07 - Lady Greensleeves
08 - Where Have All The Flowers Gone
09 - Blue Water Line
10 - Seven Daffodils
11 - Four Strong Winds
12 - 500 Miles
13 - The John B Sails
14 - Abilene
15 - Come To My Bedside, My Darlin'
16 - 55 Days At Peking
17 - Changes
18 - Both Sides Now
19 - Try To Remember
20 - Scarborough Fair
21 - San Francisco Bay Blues
22 - This Land Is Your Land

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From:
Date: 18 Aug 02 - 11:39 PM

Well, apparently both have done it.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Ferrara
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 09:33 AM

From memory:

The City Council met last night
The vote was four to three
To tear the home town depot down
And build a factory
To take that patch of history
And tear it off the map,
To melt old Engine number 9
And turn it into scrap.

Chorus:
Blue Water, Blue Water, Blue Water Line (2)
If you can't afford a quarter
Then you oughta give a dime
If everybody gave then we could save
The Old Blue Water Line.

2. Oh I could tell you stories
'Bout the glories of that train
'Bout the forty-niner miners
And the time old Jesse James
Stole a thousand golden nuggets
In that great train robbery
And about how old Abe Lincoln sat
with Todd upon his knee. (Chorus)

3. Just twenty thousand quarters
And just forty thousand dimes,
And we'll ride again to glory
On the old Blue Water Line,
We'll have William Jennings Bryan
Stoking coal on Number Nine,
So dig inside your pockets for
The old Blue Water Line. (Chorus)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 12:32 PM

I believe that the song was also recorded by The Brothers Four.

{t:BLUE WATER LINE}

The [C]City Council met last night, the [F]vote was four to [C]three
To [C]tear the home town depot down and [G7]build a factory
To [C]take that stretch of history and [F]tear it off the [C]map
And to [C]take old engine number nine and [G7]turn it into [C]scrap

{ci:CHORUS}
{soc}
[C]Blue Water, Blue Water, [F]Blue Water [C]Line
[C]Blue Water, Blue Water, [G7]Blue Water Line
If you [C]can't afford a quarter then you [F]ought to give a [C]dime
If [F]everybody gave then [C]we could save the [G7]Blue Water [C]Line
{eoc}

Oh [C]I could tell you stories of the [F]glories of that [C]train
Of the [C]49'er miners and the [G7]time old Jesse James
Stole a [C]thousand golden nuggets in that [F]great train robbe[C]ry
And when old Abe Lincoln rode with [G7]Tad upon his [C]knee

{ci:CHORUS}

Just [C]twenty thousand nickels and [F]forty thousand [C]dimes
We'll [C]ride again to glory on that [G7]old Blue Water Line
We'll have [C]William Jennings Bryan stokin' [F]coal on number [C]nine
So [C]reach into your pockets boys for the [G7]old Blue Water [C]Line

{ci:CHORUS}
#Recorded by Kingston Trio
#@train @nostalgia
#filename[ BLUWTRLN
#DP
#apr97

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From:
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 02:09 PM

Can you give me a good web site where I can find the lyrics to songs from the 1920s to current ? Thank you.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 02:19 PM

why not list some 20s & 30s songs you seek lyrics for?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Genie
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 02:37 PM

euny, if you go to the Mudcat Newcomers' Guide, you'll find links to several lyrics sites, e.g., Cowpie, Rabid Squirrel, OLGA (which no longer supplies lyrics, only guitar tabs), Lyrics World (which I'm not sure is still operating). Also try a Google search using the term "song lyrics." You'll be directed to a lot of sites.

Rabid Squirrel does have lots of lyrics from the 30s and 40s (though, as with other member-supplied info sites on the web, the accuracy sometimes leaves something to be desired).

If you are in a moderate to large metropolitan area, your local library will probably have a number of sheet music books for songs of the 1920s, songs of the 1930s, etc., as well as books like "Favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein Songs," "Big Band Hits," "Songs of The War Years," etc. I've collected lots of sheet music this way, and the accuracy of the lyrics, chords, melodies, etc., is probably better than what you find at most online sites with free info.

If you do have specific songs you're looking for, you can probably find them by doing a DT/Forum Search using a key phrase from the song or by using the Mudcat "Filter" box, typing in a key word from the song title and setting the filter for 3 years. You can also start a "Lyr. Req." thread and give the titles you are looking for, if you don't find them already in the Forum somewhere.

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: jimmyt
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 03:32 PM

Sorry, not an answer to Blue water Line delemma, but I see it has been solved already. I am new to this forum andson't know how to post an original question, but here goes, I am in a folk group that predominately covers KT3 and Peter Paul and Mary songs plus some traditional American and Irish folk songs. We have been asked if we have CDs available and are interested in perhaps burning one for sale at performances, but we are not familiar with royalties and how they are to be paid, etc. Sorry to be so slow, but not interested in litigation problems either! Thanks for your help! Jim Todd

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Genie
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 03:41 PM

Jimmy, right above the Forum threads you will find a box that says "Start A New Thread." Click on that and there will be a box for your thread title. (You will probably want to use the prefix "Help" -- i.e., make it a public help question thread.) Then below that there is a box where you can type in the kind of information and questions that you posted here.

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Genie
Date: 19 Aug 02 - 03:57 PM

It was, indeed, my friend Gil who posted the lyrics and chords.  Here they are with line breaks within the verses.

Genie
 

BLUE WATER LINE
 
 The [C]City Council met last night, the [F]vote was four to [C]three,
 To [C]tear the home town depot down and [G7]build a factory,
 To [C]take that stretch of history and [F]tear it off the [C]map
 And to [C]take old engine number nine and [G7]turn it into [C]scrap.
 
CHORUS:
    [C]Blue Water, Blue Water, [F]Blue Water [C]Line,
    [C]Blue Water, Blue Water, [G7]Blue Water Line.
    If you [C]can't afford a quarter, then you [F]ought to give a [C]dime.
    If [F]everybody gave then [C]we could save the [G7]Blue Water [C]Line.
 
 
 Oh, [C]I could tell you stories of the [F]glories of that [C]train,
 Of the [C]'49er miners and the [G7]time old Jesse James
 Stole a [C]thousand golden nuggets in that [F]great train robbe[C]ry,
 And when old Abe Lincoln rode with [G7]Tad upon his [C]knee.
 
CHORUS
 
 Just [C]twenty thousand nickels and [F]forty thousand [C]dimes,
 We'll [C]ride again to glory on that [G7]old Blue Water Line.
 We'll have [C]William Jennings Bryan stokin' [F]coal on number [C]nine,
 So [C]reach into your pockets, boys, for the [G7]old Blue Water [C]Line.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From:
Date: 20 Aug 02 - 01:45 AM

thanks so much!! I can't wait to learn it and play it! You guys are amazing!!!

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Kathryn
Date: 17 Jul 06 - 10:29 PM

In the song "Blue Water Line", William Jennings Bryant is named. Was the Bryant the same as the lawyer in the Scopes trial?? or was there an engineer by that name??
thanks
k

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Peace
Date: 17 Jul 06 - 10:57 PM

I think the lawyer from the Scopes Trial was William Jennings BRYAN. No T.

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: frogprince
Date: 17 Jul 06 - 10:58 PM

I'm pretty sure the reference is to WJB the lawyer. He was also a presidential candidate repeatedly, spoke on the Chautauqua circuit, and was in general so well known that the use of his name in an odd, non-literal context in the song would be no surprise.

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Peace
Date: 17 Jul 06 - 10:58 PM

After 1896


Bryan ran for the presidency again in 1900 and 1908; while he stressed many of the same themes, U.S. foreign relations became more important, and Bryan became a leading 'anti-imperialist.' He never won the presidency, but when Woodrow Wilson was elected president in 1912 (after a convention battle blocking Bryan's fourth nomination), Bryan was appointed Secretary of State. He resigned in protest over 'war preparedness,' as Wilson carried the nation into World War I.

In 1925 Bryan faced off in the courtroom against Clarence Darrow in the famous 'Scopes Trial,' held in Dayton, Tennessee. The trial tested whether evolution could be taught in schools, and Bryan represented the views of creationists who supported a literal interpretation of the Biblical creation story. Though Bryan won, the conviction of John Scopes--a Tennessee teacher who had purposely broken the law--was later overturned. Bryan died a week after the trial, still a controversial figure, but now seen as a religious conservative rather than an economic radical.

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Peace
Date: 17 Jul 06 - 11:01 PM

However, I am finding both spellings on the www. Anyone know how to spell his name?

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Kathryn
Date: 17 Jul 06 - 11:11 PM

So, I take it that he wasn't an engineer. Ok. Makes sense. I figured it was a name that fit into the song and they used it.

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 02:44 AM

Blue Water Line, a signature song for the Brothers Four, was written by Dora Graf and Martin Seligson. The DT says the song was recorded by Kingston Trio, but I don't believe that's so. The only recording I could find is the one by the Brothers Four - but that one recording is on eight different CD's.

Here's the beginning of the Encyclopedia Britannica article on William Jennings Bryan (note spelling - DT has it wrong):

Bryan, William Jennings
born March 19, 1860, Salem, Ill., U.S.
died July 26, 1925, Dayton, Tenn.

Democratic and Populist leader and a magnetic orator who ran unsuccessfully three times for the U.S. presidency (1896, 1900, 1908). His enemies regarded him as an ambitious demagogue, but his supporters viewed him as a champion of liberal causes. He was influential in the eventual adoption of such reforms as popular election of senators, income tax, creation of a Department of Labor, Prohibition, and woman suffrage. Throughout his career, his Midwestern roots clearly identified him with agrarian interests, in opposition to those of the urban East.

Bryan was one of the most popular - and one of the most controversial - figures in the U.S. at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.

Now, who were Dora Graf and Martin Seligson?

-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: MARK TWAIN (Seligson/Geller)
From: Peace
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 02:57 AM

"Mark Twain (2:35) Martin Seligson, Harvey Geller The Kingston Trio"

THE KINGSTON TRIO lyrics - "Mark Twain"


www.OldieLyrics.com

MARK TWAIN
(Geller/Seligson)

My granddad used to tell me, "Boy, when I was just your age,
I was a river pilot on a showboat called The Stage.
I'd hobnob with them southern belles and ev'ry roustabout.
I'd listen to them paddle wheels and hear the leadsman shout!

[Chorus:]
Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below.
Mark Twain, heave the gang plank. Start the show.
Mark Twain, play those banjos as we go down
the Mississippi, 'round the Gulf of Mexico.

There were gamblers, crooks and fakers and a minstrel man who'd dance.
A singin' gal, Simone Lamour, imported straight from France.
It was a floatin' palace, boy, that showboat called The Stage,
and granddad was the king of it when he was just my age."

[Chorus]

The calliope is quiet now. The rudder's thick with rust.
The main deck and the paddle wheels are covered high with dust.
But granddad's in his glory, still standin' on the bow.
A halo 'round his pilot's cap and I can hear him now.

[Chorus]

From

www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_kingston_trio/mark_twain.html

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Peace
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 03:03 AM

"John Riley Fly was born in Cherryvale, Kansas, on the 31st August 1881. He was the son of John Bryan and Sara Westfall Fly. On Dec. first 1918, John married Miss Victoria Kathrine "Dora" Graf, daughter of Carl and Monicka (Campter) Graf. From the John Riley Fly story in the High Plains History Book, p. 231. The Steed Funeral Home Index shows the date of death for John Riley Fly as Sept. 12, 1963 and the date of death for Victoria Katherine (Dora) Flye (with an e on it) as Feb. 19, 1952. Harold Kilmer"

Found this at

www.rootsweb.com/~nmcurry/2002qury.htm

However, whether that is she whom is being sought as the co-author of "Blue Water Line" is another thing. Have to go for now. Have a good evening all.

Subject: Lyr Add/DT Corr: BLUE WATER LINE (Graf & Seligson)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 03:15 AM

I guess there are enough discrepancies to warrant posting a corrected post. I transcribed this by ear from the 1960 Brothers Four album, Rally Round. It's a very clear recording, so I think I have all the words right. Seligson and Harvey Geller have their name on "Oleanna" and "Mark Twain" - I thought "Oleanna" was Pete Seeger's translation.
-Joe Offer-



BLUE WATER LINE
(Dora Graf and Martin Seligson)

The City Council met last week, the vote was four to three
To burn the hometown depot down and build a factory
To take that stretch of history and tear it off the map
To melt old engine number nine and turn it into scrap

CHORUS
Blue Water, Blue Water, Blue Water Line
Blue Water, Blue Water, Blue Water Line
If you can't afford a quarter then you ought to give a dime
If everybody gave then we could save the Blue Water Line

Oh I could tell you stories of the glories on that train
Of the 49'er miners and the time old Jesse James
Stole a thousand golden nuggets in that great train robbery
And when old Abe Lincoln rode with Todd* upon his knee
CHORUS

Just twenty thousand quarters and just forty thousand dimes
And we'll ride again to glory on the old Blue Water Line
We'll have William Jennings Bryan stokin' coal on number nine
So dig inside your pockets for the old Blue Water Line
CHORUS


* The Brothers Four recording has "Todd" on Lincoln's lap. It was "Tad" Lincoln, born in 1853, who was young enough to be on Lincoln's knee while Lincoln was president. Mary Todd was Lincoln's wife, and firstborn son Robert Todd Lincoln was born in 1843.

Recorded by The Brothers Four
@train @nostalgia
filename[ BLUWTRLN
DP
apr97

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Peace
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 03:16 AM

Title:
Deep Blue Sea, Jimmy Young

Author:
Words and music - Martin Seligson and Steve Harvey

Category:
20th Century Songs

Description:
©.1957. Fine condition

Price:
£10.00

Stock Reference Number:
39061


From

www.sheetmusicwarehouse.co.uk/sheetmusic.php?initial=d

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Peace
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 03:22 AM

2.
Blue Water Line
(Graf & Seligson)
(Feb 24, 1962)
Fox Trot

That is info ya have, but the site it's from is interesting.

wurlitzer-rolls.com/index5.html

or Google

Wurlitzer 165 catalog, page 5

Subject: RE: Blue Water Line
From: Peace
Date: 18 Jul 06 - 03:35 AM

Interesting little snippet here:

"1. About a boy orator

I first heard of Bryan when I was maybe six, and my mother played a record of "Blue Water Line," a folk song urging the cooperative takeover of a failing railroad:

If you can't afford a quarter then you ought to give a dime
If everybody gave then we could save the Blue Water Line
Just twenty thousand quarters and forty thousand dimes
And we'll ride again to glory on that old Blue Water Line
We'll have William Jennings Bryan stokin' coal on number nine
So dig inside your pockets for the old Blue Water Line"

That is from

rauchway.ucdavis.edu/mt/archives/general_knowledge/000203.html

It is from a review of:

Michael Kazin, A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. xxii+376 pp., illustrations, notes, and index. USD 30.00, cloth.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: GUEST,Marty's daughter
Date: 31 Jan 10 - 06:11 PM

I can't believe that there are people out there that really want Blue Water LIne lyrics and chords. My dad wrote that song, and he used to sing it to us all the time. My dad just passed away a few years ago, and its so touching to see people blogging about the song!!!!

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Blue Water Line
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 07:48 AM

Marty's daughter: Since your father's full name hasn't been mentioned in this thread, I will mention it now. That's Martin Seligson, who co-wrote BLUE WATER LINE with Dora Graf, as explained in the other thread about this song: Blue Water Line.

Another song your father wrote (with Harvey Geller) MARK TWAIN has also been posted at Mudcat.

Too often, we give credit only to performers, and forget to mention songwriters. I like to correct that bias whenever I can.

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: BLUE WATER LINE
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jul 14 - 01:25 PM

BLUE WATER LINE

The (D) City Council (D7) met last night, the (G) vote was four to (D) three
To (D) tear the home town (Bm) depot down and (E7) build a factor (A7)y
To (D) take that stretch of (D7) history and (G) tear it off the(D) map
To (D) melt take old engine (Bm) number nine and (A7) turn it into (D)scrap

CHORUS
(D) Blue Water, Blue Water, Blue Water Line
(D) Blue Water, (Bm) Blue Water, (E7) Blue Water (A7) Line
If you (D) can't afford a (D7)quarter, then you (G) ought to give a (D) dime
If (D)everybody gave then we could save the … (A7)Blue Water (D) Line

Oh (D) I could tell you (D7) stories of the (G) glories of that (D) train
Of the (D) 49'er (Bm) miners and the (E7) time old Jesse (A7)James
Stole a (D) thousand golden (D7) nuggets in that (G) great train robber (D)y
And when (D) old Abe Lincoln (Bm) rode with (A7) Tad upon his (D)knee
CHORUS

Just (D) twenty thousand (D7) nickels and (G)forty thousand (D)dimes
We'll (D)ride again to (Bm) glory on that (E7)old Blue Water (A7)Line
We'll have (D)William Jennings (D7)Bryan stokin' (G)coal on number (D) nine
So (D) reach into your (Bm)pockets boys for the (A7) old Blue Water (D) Line
CHORUS
(on the last chorus, repeat last line)

Subject: Lyr Add: BLUE WATER LINE (from Ted & Herb Hyman)
From: GUEST,David Usher
Date: 20 Jul 17 - 12:20 AM

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