The Wabash Cannonball:Big John Khat And The Highland
Blues Band.
Recorded live in Metz, France in 1962.
(Always got a lot of requests for this one, no matter where
we played. I learned this version as a wee lad, way back
when. However, there are several versions of the lyrics..
the original is believed to have been written in 1882.)
#1.
From the great Atlantic ocean to the wide Pacific shore..
she climbs the flowery mountains, over hills and by the shore.
She s mighty tall and handsome, and she s known quite well by all.
She s the hobo s accomodation..the Wabash Cannonball.
#2.
Oh, the Eastern states are dandy, so the Western people say..
Chicago, Rock Island, St. Louis..by the way.
To the lakes of Minnesota where the rippling waters fall..
no changes can be taken on the Wabash Cannonball.
CHORUS:
Oh, listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar..
as she glides along the woodland, over hills and by the shore.
Hear the mighty rush of her engine..hear the lonesome hobos call..
she glides along the woodlands, the Wabash Cannonball.
#3.
Well, she came on down from Birming-Town one cold December day..
as she pulled into the station you could hear all the people say.
She s from Tennessee..she s long and she s tall.
She come on down from Birmingham on the Wabash Cannonball.
#4.
Oh, here s to Daddy Claxon, let his name forever be..
and long be remembered in the courts of Tennessee.
For he s a good old rounder til the curtains round him fall..
he ll be carried on to Glory on the Wabash Cannonball.
#5.
I have rode the I.C. Limited, also the Royal Blue..
across the Eastern counties on Elkhorn Number Two.
I have rode those highball trains, from coast to coast and all..
but I have found no equal to the Wabash Cannonball.
CHORUS:
Oh, listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar..
as she winds along the woodlands, over hills and by the shore.
She s a mighty pretty lady, she s long and she s tall..
she s come on down from Birming-Town..the Wabash Cannonball.
OUTRO:
Oh, listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar..
as she winds along the woodlands, over hills and by the shore.
Hear the mighty rush of her engine..hear the lonesome hobos call..
she s ridin on to Glory..the Wabash Cannonball..(Fade.)
An 1882 smash from Kraziekhat.