The Wabash Cannonball, a Classic Train Song from Family Garden Trains^TM

The Wabash river flows from Northwest Ohio across Indiana to the border of Illinois. There was also a series of railroad-based businesses with Wabash in the name, including the Wabash Railroad (1889-1915), the Wabash Railway (1915-1931), and the PRR-controlled Wabash Railroad (1941-1960). None of those entities, as far as I can determine, ever ran a train called the "Wabash Cannonball" until after the song became famous. In fact, the first published version of this song had the lyrics "Great Rock Island Route" where later versions inserted the words "Wabash Cannonball." So it's possible that the song came before the title, and no one really knows how, when, why, or even if the name changed. There is no question, however, that "Wabash Cannonball" sounds better than "Great Rock Island Route."

Of course no train from the American heartland ever went to both shores, or to all of the cities named in some versions of the song. Several versions describe the train from the hobos' point of view, which has lead some historians to hypothesize that the "Wabash Cannonball" was sort of hobo "tall tale," like the "Big Rock Candy Mountain."

Run Through the Jungle - The "hobo" versions have the train running through the "jungle," which indicates the "hobo jungle," the makeshift shantytowns that hobos often built near railroad yards.

The Tribute Verse - Several versions have a tribute verse to "Daddy Cleton," or "Daddy Claxton," or other names that are entirely different. The hobo versions seem to identify the person being toasted as a late, great hobo. Other versions have the person as being remembered in the courtrooms, which would make more sense if the fellow was, say, a lawyer.

Roy Acuff has pointed out that he has ancestors named Claxton, so he thinks "Daddy Claxton" might be some uncle of his that was a lawyer. Unfortunately, the name "Daddy Claxton" found its way to the song long before the song found its way to the Acuffs, so the chronology doesn't seem to support Roy's hypothesis.

Victory or Dixie - The last line of the tribute verse includes the phrase "carry him home to victory," but southern singers tend to sing it "carry him home to Dixie," a choice that I included in the version below. (I'm not from the south, but "Dixie" just works better.)

In other choices, I tended toward the earlier wording choices and toward the wording choices that emphasized the majesty of the locomotive, "rumble" versus "rumor," "whistle's call" versus "hobo's call," etc. If you grew up with another version, please accept my apologies and feel free to sing this song any way you want to.

If you don't know the tune and would like to see it on a score, please click here.

Also, if you have a favorite train song, or a favorite performer that I've left out, please contact me and I'll try to track him down. Also, if you don't see the link for a clip in the table below, hit the "refresh" button on your browser. Sometimes Amazon has trouble populating all of the links at the same time.

From the coast of the Atlantic, to the broad Pacific shore,
From the warm and sunny southlands, to the isle of Labrador,
There's a train that's quite important; she's known by one and all,
She's the western combination called the Wabash Cannonball.

Chorus:
Oh, listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar,
As she glides along the woodlands, over hills and by the shore.
Hear the thunder of the engine, hear the lonesome whistle call.
She's the western combination called the Wabash Cannonball.

Oh, the eastern states are dandy, so the western people say,
Chicago, Rock Island, St. Louis by the way.
To the hills of Minnesota, where the rippling waters fall,
No changes to be taken on the Wabash Cannonball.

Now here's to Daddy Claxton, may his name forever stand,
And always be remembered through the courts throughout the land.
His earthly race is over, now the curtains round him fall.
We'll carry him home to Dixie on the Wabash Cannonball.

I have rode the I.C. Limited, also the Royal Blue,
Across the eastern countries, on mail car number two.
I have rode those highball trains from coast to coast, that's all,
But I have found no equal to the Wabash Cannonball.

MP3 clips from Amazon

Wabash Cannonball - Willie Nelson Willie's classic vocal over a western swing accompaniment.
Wabash Cannonball - Roy Acuff A traditional "Smoky Mountain" style arrangement, with harmonica and train whistle. By the way, the middle name of Roy's lawyer father was Claxton. But Roy swore that's not where the Claxton name came from.
Wabash Cannonball - Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys Live performance at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival
Wabash Cannonball - Carter Family From a Johnny Cash tour album - Maybelle and the girls give us their classic three-part harmony, backed by Tennessee Three and others. Take a listen.

More Great Sound Clips of This Song

Click here to hear more sound clips of this song on Amazon

You-Tube Videos of This Song

• Boxcar Willie - Willie's version is one of the "standards" of the genre. One thing nice about it is that you can really understand the words, so if you're practicing the song, this is a good one to work with.

• Johnny Cash Studio recording - with random movies of trains in the video channel. Looking for this recording was the reason I kept finding the other Cash performance below. This is his best recording, but if this link gets taken down, think of the other two as backup :-)

• Jerry Reed live on the old Porter Wagonner show. One thing interesting is how fast Wagonner's band catches on to his unusual tempo and beat - the first line and a half is a bit ragged, and from then on it sounds like they rehearsed every bit. That's the difference between real musicians and the hundreds of wannabees I've known over the years as a guitar teacher. "I don't see why I'll ever need to know more chords than I need to play my favorite songs." "The circle of 5ths is for people who can't feel the music in their gut." See my article How to Give Guitar Lessons for more information.

• Chet Atkins - nobody plays it better.

• Willie Nelson - I admit, Willie's verion with the Highwaymen is better, but it seems to have been taken down. This will still get you a taste of Willie's take on the song.

• Johnny Cash - a 1979 television appearance.

• Carter Sisters with Johnny Cash - another television appearance.

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    - Paul Race