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the little black train

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TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
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aka The Gipper

Joined: 10 June 2003
Location: Chinook Montana
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    Posted: 05 April 2005 at 17:16

I have transcribed here the lyrics for "Little Black Train", as performed by Woody Guthrie. Does anybody know anything else about this song? The song structure greatly reminds me of "Gotta Serve Somebody". There's the train imagery, too, but of course that's very prevalent (the "holy slow train"),

This song appears on the album "Woody Guthrie with Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry, Vol 1", "International Joker Production", 1982. Judging by some of their other products, I assume that Joker is some sort of quasi-legal outfit. All songs are credited to Woody except "House of the Rising Sun", but that's meaningless, since songs such as "John Henry", "Who's Going to Shoe Your Pretty Feet", "DanvilleGirl #2" (#2?) are also credited to Woody.

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Little Black Train

Woody Guthrie

 

There's a little black train a’coming
Coming down the track
You gotta ride that little black train
But it ain't gonna bring you back

 

You may be a bar-room gambler
And cheat your way through life
But you can't cheat that little black train
Or beat this final ride

 

You silk and bar-room ladies

Dressed in your wordly pride

You gotta ride that little black train
That's coming in tonight

 

Your million dollar fortune
Your mansion glittering white
You can't take it with you
When the train rolls in tonight

 

Get ready for your savior
And fix your business right
You've gotta ride that little black train
To make this final ride

 

You silk and bar-room ladies
Dressed in your wordly pride
You gotta ride that little black train
That's coming in tonight

 

You may be a bar-room gambler
And cheat your way through life
But you can't cheat that little black train
Or beat this final ride

 

There's a little black train a’coming
Coming down the track
You gotta ride that little black train
But it ain't gonna bring you back



Edited by TasunkaWitko
TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana

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