In the hands of gifted performers the songwriter's efforts are sharply focused lyrically and instrumentally. Pictures are painted and hearts are moved. For well over a century the rich history of American railroads has provided abundant grist for the songwriter's mill.
Trains are big and loom large in the collective unconscious.
No wonder there are so many powerful railroad songs about real and metaphorical trains. Hundreds pay tribute to speeding locomotives, heroic engineers, outlaws, hobos, lonely passengers, anxious lovers and late night dreamers. Freight Train Blues, compiled and annotated by Michael Hyatt, proudly presents more of the best train songs recorded during the past quarter century.