Out from the wide Pacific to the broad Atlantic shore
She climbs the flowery mountains, over hills and by the shore
Although she's tall and handsome and she's known quite well by all
She's a regular combination, 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
She climbs the flowery mountains, hear the merry hobo squall
As she glides along the woodland, the Wabash Cannonball.
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 chances to be taken on the Wabash Cannonball.
Chorus
I have rode the I.C. Limited, also the Royal Blue Across the Eastern counties on Elkhorn Number Two I have rode these highball trains from coast to coast that's all But I have found no equal to the Wabash Cannonball.
Chorus
Oh, here's old daddy Cleaton, let his name forever be And long be remembered in the courts of Tennessee For he is a good old rounder 'til the curtain round him fall He'll be carried back to victory on the Wabash Cannonball.
Chorus Newsgroups: alt.guitar.tab Path: hydra.acs.ttu.edu!hermes.chpc.utexas.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news.uta.edu!utahep.uta.edu!sawyer News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41 Nntp-Posting-Host: utahep.uta.edu Organization: University of Texas at Arlington High Energy Physics Group Lines: 54
: [one version of "The Wabash Cannonball"]
Folk music is a wonderful thing. Here's another shot at the lyrics -
Wabash Cannonball
She's mighty tall and hanndsome and she's known quite well by all,
She's the modern combination on the Wabash Cannonball
{Quite a bit of wordplay equating the train with a woman, which is continued in the next verse}
She came down from Birmingham one cold December day And as she stood in the roundhouse you could hear all the people say "There's a gal from Tennesee and, man, she's long and she's tall. She came down from Birmingham on the Wabash Cannonball"
{The next verse is very similar to the last in the previous post}
Well here's to Daddy Claxton, may his name forever be ! And long be remembered in the courts of Tennesee. His earthly trials are over as the final curtain falls. We'll carry him home to vict'ry on the Wabash Cannonball.
{Up to now the song has had a decidedly southern bent, despite the fact that the train ran N_S and was named for a river in Indiana. The next verse, probably a much later redaction, tries to gives some equal time to our northern friends...}
Her eastern states are dandy, some people always say. No changes can be taken on the Wabash Cannonball.
{Check out the alliteration and internal rhyme on the next verse.}
So listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar As she glides along the foothills and the pathways to the shore. Hear the mighty rush of the engines, hear the lonesome hobos call As they rumble through the jungle on the Wabash Cannonball.
Lee Sawyer
Dept of Physics Univ. of Texas at Arlington
Rather than using G-C-D, I have always played Wabash Cannonball using G-Am-D7. Try that and see if it dooesn't sound better.
