Freight Train

About Freight Train

"Freight Train" is an American folk song written by Elizabeth Cotten in the early 20th century, and popularized during the American folk revival and British skiffle period of the 1950s and 1960s. By Cotten's own account in the 1985 BBC series Down Home, she composed “Freight Train” as a teenager (sometime between 1906 and 1912), inspired by the sound of the trains rolling in on the tracks near her home in North Carolina. Cotten was a one-time nanny for folk singer Peggy Seeger, who took this song with her to England, where it became popular in folk music circles. British songwriters Paul James and Fred Williams subsequently misappropriated it as their own composition and copyrighted it. Under their credit, it was then recorded by British skiffle singer Chas McDevitt, who recorded the song in December, 1956. Under advice from his manager (Bill Varley), McDevitt then brought in folk-singer Nancy Whiskey and re-recorded the song with her doing the vocal; the result was a chart hit. McDevitt's version influenced many young skiffle groups of the day, including The Quarrymen. Under the advocacy of the influential Seeger family, the copyright was eventually restored to Cotten. Nevertheless, it remains mis-credited in many sources. more »

Year:

2012

2:59

139 Views

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This is my island in the sun
Where my people have toiled since time begun
I may sail on many a sea
Her shores will always be home to me

[Chorus:]
Oh, island in the sun
Willed to me by my father's hand
All my days I will sing in praise
Of your forest, waters, your shining sand

As morning breaks the heaven on high
I lift my heavy load to the sky
Sun comes down with a burning glow
Mingles my sweat with the earth below

[Chorus]

I see woman on bended knee
Cutting cane for her family
I see man at the waterside
Casting nets at the surging tide

[Chorus]

I pray the day will never come
When I can't awake to the sound of drum
Never let me miss carnival
With calypso songs philosophical

[Chorus]

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Nancy Whiskey

Nancy Whiskey (born Anne Alexandra Young "Nancy" Wilson, 4 March 1935 – 1 February 2003) was a Scottish folk singer, best known for the 1957 hit song, "Freight Train". more »

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