“Wreck of the C & O Sportsman”
Description
"Far away on the banks of New River, While the deep shades of twilight hunglow," engineer Haskell and fireman Anderson drive the trail. It goes off the train on a curve. The two are killed. The singer recalls the loved ones at home
Notes
Cohen notes that this wreck "was possibly thelast to be memorialized in song" -- but hardly a popular one; fewer than 500 copies of the original disc were sold, and the odds that the song became traditional arevery poor. - RBW
Historical references
- June 21, 1930 - The Sportsman wreck. Engineer Homer E. Haskell (who had been with the line 35 years) and fireman Henry G. Anderson are killed and three others injured
Recordings
- Roy Harvey and the North Carolina Ramblers (=Si Coleman and his Railroad Ramblers), "The Wreck of the C & O Sportsman" (Superior 2701, 1931
References
- Cohen-LSRail, pp. 264-266, "The Wreck of the C & O Sportsman" (1 text, 1 tune)
- BI, LSRai264