Train Songs

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Air date: 
Wed, 09/07/2022 - 5:30am to 7:00am
Pastures of Plenty 090722 Train Songs
Train Songs

The glamour of luxury trains of the past, trains that took loved ones away or brought them home, and the siren call of the lonesome train whistle have been the subject of hundreds of classic American folk, country and blues songs since the heyday of railroads from the 1930s through the 1960s.

In this episode of Pastures of Plenty we’ll hear some of the greatest songs recorded about trains, from the 1920s through the 21st Century, by familiar voices of the past and present.

Featured artists include legends Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rodgers, Robert Johnson, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Hank Williams, Guy Clark, and Utah Phillips, as well as Portland blues legends Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, and Mary Flower.  

All Aboard!

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Episode Playlist

  • Time
    5:30
    Artist
    Johnny Cash
    Song
    Folsom Prison Blues
    Album
    At Folsom Prison (Live)
    Label
    Columbia/Legacy
  • Time
    5:32
    Artist
    Jimmie Rodgers
    Song
    Train Whistle Blues
    Album
    The Complete RCA Victor Recordings
    Label
    Sony/Legacy
  • Time
    5:35
    Artist
    Robert Johnson
    Song
    Love In Vain
    Album
    The Complete Recordings
    Label
    Columbia
  • Time
    5:38
    Artist
    Norman Blake
    Song
    Southern Railroad Blues
    Album
    The Fields of November
    Label
    Flying Fish
  • Time
    5:41
    Artist
    Doc Watson
    Song
    Southbound
    Album
    Southbound
    Label
    Vanguard Records
  • Time
    5:50
    Artist
    Lloyd Jones
    Song
    Southbound Train
    Album
    Highway Bound
    Label
    Underworld Records
  • Time
    5:53
    Artist
    Mary Flower
    Song
    Mystery Train
    Album
    Rosewood & Steel
    Label
    Bluesette Records
  • Time
    5:58
    Artist
    Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager
    Song
    Morning Train
    Album
    Rough Cut
    Label
    Alligator Records
  • Time
    6:02
    Artist
    Hank Williams
    Song
    California Zephyr
    Album
    The Immortal
    Label
    Mercury Nashville
  • Time
    6:03
    Artist
    Mason Jennings
    Song
    Empire Builder
    Album
    Use Your Voice
    Label
    bar/none records
  • Time
    6:06
    Artist
    Doc Watson
    Song
    Wabash Cannonball
    Album
    Never the Same Way Once
    Label
    Bear's Sonic Journeys
  • Time
    6:10
    Artist
    Billy Bragg & Joe Henry
    Song
    The Midnight Special
    Album
    Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
    Label
    Cooking Vinyl
  • Time
    6:13
    Artist
    The Wanderers
    Song
    Sunshine Special
    Album
    Live and Kickin'
    Label
    Self-released
  • Time
    6:18
    Artist
    Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn
    Song
    Railroad
    Album
    Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn
    Label
    New Rounder
  • Time
    6:21
    Artist
    Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer
    Song
    Tanglewood Tree
    Album
    Tanglewood Tree
    Label
    Signature Sounds Recordings
  • Time
    6:25
    Artist
    Rich & Jean Fuhrman
    Song
    On the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe
    Album
    Label
  • Time
    6:27
    Artist
    Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band
    Song
    Texas Eagle
    Album
    The Mountain
    Label
    Warner Records
  • Time
    6:33
    Artist
    Guy Clark
    Song
    Texas 1947
    Album
    Keepers: A Live Recording
    Label
    Sugar Hill
  • Time
    6:36
    Artist
    Utah Phillips
    Song
    Daddy, What's a Train?
    Album
    Good Though!
    Label
    New Rounder
  • Time
    6:39
    Artist
    Johnny Cash
    Song
    I've Got a Thing About Trains
    Album
    Hello, I'm Johnny Cash
    Label
    Columbia Nashville Legacy
  • Time
    6:44
    Artist
    Norman Blake
    Song
    The Railroad Days
    Album
    Old and New
    Label
    Flying Fish
  • Time
    6:47
    Artist
    Mary McCaslin
    Song
    Last Cannonball
    Album
    Prairie In The Sky
    Label
    Philo
  • Time
    6:49
    Artist
    Steve Goodman
    Song
    The City of New Orleans
    Album
    Live on WNEW FM
    Label
  • Time
    6:55
    Artist
    Woody Guthrie & Sonny Terry
    Song
    Train Blues
    Album
    The Asch Recordings Volume 4
    Label
    Smithsonian Folkways
  • Time
    6:58
    Artist
    Bashful Brother Oswald
    Song
    Wabash Cannonball
    Album
    Brother Oswald
    Label
    Rounder

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