“Waiting For a Train (II)”

Description

Singer waits to hop a train. A brakeman tells him that if he has money "I'll see that you don't walk," then puts him off the train in Texas. "My pocketbook is empty/And my heart is filled with pain/I'm a thousand miles away from home/Waiting for a train"

Long description

Singer, a hobo, is out in the rain waiting for a train to hop. A brakeman tells him that if he has money "I'll see that you don't walk." He has no money; the brakeman slams the boxcar door, then puts him off the train in Texas. "My pocketbook is empty/And my heart is filled with pain/I'm a thousand miles away from home/Waiting for a train"

Notes

This composed song seems to be moving into oral tradition, both Anglo- and Afro-American (blues singer Furry Lewis used to perform it); Mississippi John Hurt used its melody for "Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me." - PJS

Same tune

• Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me (recorded by Mississippi John Hurt)

Cross references

• cf. "Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum)" (subject, a few lyrics)

Recordings

• Gene Autry, "Waiting for a Train" (Diva 6031, c. 1930)
• Riley Puckett, "Waiting for a Train" (Columbia 15408-D, 1929)
• Bud Reed, "Waiting for a Train" (on Reeds1)
• Hoke Rice, "Waiting for a Train" (Champion 15767/QRS 9012, 1929)
• Jimmie Rodgers, "Waiting for a Train" (Victor V-40014, 1929)
• Ed (Jake) West, "Waiting for a Train" (Broadway 8109, c. 1931)
• Harry Wilson, "Waiting for the Train" (Perfect 12556, 1930)