Frank Hutchison - Railroad Bill (information & lyrics)

This is Part IV of a five part series of posts about old time American music songs entitled "Railroad Bill". Part I and Part II of this series provides general information about the man known as "Railroad Bill".

Part IV provides a sound file & lyrics of this song by Anglo-American vocalist Frank Hutchinson.

Part I provides lyrics & a sound file of a 1924 version of "Railroad Bill" by Riley Puckett. That post also provides links to information about and examples of some other early versions of "Railroad Bill" songs. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/riley-puckett-railroad-bill-information.html for that post.

Part II provides lyrics to the version of this song that was recorded in 1924 by Anglo-American vocalist Roba Stanley. In the addendum to that post I've also included the "Roborus" fragment and the "Shanghai Rooster" fragment which are folk etymology variants of "Railroad Bill". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/roba-stanley-railroad-bill-information.html for that post.

Part III provides lyrics of a 1929 song by Will Bennett. This is the first version of this song that was recorded by a Black person.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/will-bennett-railroad-bill-information.html.

Part V provides a sound file and lyrics of this song by Lonnie Donegan, who was a prominent British Skiffle vocalist. Information about Skiffle music is also provided in that post. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/lonnie-donegan-railroad-bill-with.html.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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FEATURED SOUNDFILE: Frank Hutchison-Railroad Bill

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BBYMRLCCOTN, Uploaded on Jun 27, 2010
-snip-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hutchisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hutchison for information about Frank Hutchinson (March 20, 1891 – November 9, 1945)

LYRICS AND COMMENTS ABOUT "RAILROAD BILL SONG" AS SUNG BY FRANK HUTCHINSON
From http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?Itemid=128&topic=4210.msg60497#msg60497 Topic: Frank Hutchison lyrics

Johnm [John Miller]
Re: Frank Hutchison lyrics
« Reply #50 on: April 21, 2011, 08:33:33 AM »
“Frank Hutchison recorded "Railroad Bill" at his session in New York City on July 9, 1929...

Railroad Bill got so bad
Stole all the chickens the poor farmers had
Well, it's get back, old Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill went out West
Shot all the buttons off a brakeman's vest
Well, it's get back, Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill got so fine
Shot ninety-nine holes in a shilver shine
Well, it's ride, Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill, standing at the tanks
Waiting for the train they call Hancy Nanks
Well, it's ride, Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill, standing at the curve
Gonna rob the mail train but he didn't have the nerve
Well, it's get back, Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill, he lived on the hill
He never worked or he never will
Well, it's ride, Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill went out West
Shot all the buttons off a brakeman's vest
Well, it's get back, Railroad Bill

Posted by http://www.johnmillerguitar.com

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Response by uncle bud
Re: Frank Hutchison lyrics
« Reply #51 on: April 21, 2011, 08:43:00 AM »
"Hi John -
Perhaps Hutchison screwed up the line in verse 3? Normally the line would be something like "shot nine holes through a silver dime". He doesn't sing that, sounds something like "silver shine" to me. With silver sung as "shilver".

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ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT THE NANCY HANKS
"Nancy Hanks" is given as "Hancy Nanks" in that version of "Railroad Bill."
Here's information about the "Nancy Hanks" from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hanks_(train)
"The Nancy Hanks was a popular Central of Georgia Railway passenger train in Georgia running between Atlanta and Savannah. It was named after a race horse who was named for Abraham Lincoln's mother. The name is even older than the mid-20th century train derived from that of a short-lived but famous steam special, the Nancy Hanks. The earlier Nancy operated in 1892 and 1893.
Nancy Hanks II made her first trip on July 17, 1947. The new train's cars were painted blue and grey and, like the first Nancy, each bore a likeness of the famed trotter on the side.[1]
"The Nancy", as it was affectionately known, was an all-coach, reserved-seat train with grill lounge service. It left Savannah daily at 7 AM for the six-hour run via Macon to Atlanta, and returned from Atlanta's Terminal Station at 6 PM (18:00)."

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