THE WRECK OF THE OLD 97 by HANK SNOW
1,487,223
Published 2008-01-22
Lyrics
They give him his orders at Monroe, Virginia
Sayin', "Steve you're way behind time
This is not Thirty-Eight, but it's old Ninety-Seven
You must put her in Spencer on time"
Then he looked 'round and said to his black greasy fireman
"Just shovel in a little more coal
And when we cross that white oak mountain
You can watch old Ninety-Seven roll"
It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville
In a line on a three mile grade
It was on that grade where he lost his air brakes
So you see what a jump he made
He was goin' down grade makin' ninety miles an hour
And his whistle broke into a scream
He was found in the wreck, with his hand on the throttle
And scalded to death by the steam
Now, ladies, you must all take warning
From this time on and learn
Never speak harsh words to your true lovin' husband
He may leave you and never return
Songwriters: Charles W. Noell / Fred J. Lewey / Henry Whitter
Wreck Of The Old 97 lyrics © Shapiro Bernstein & Co. Inc.
..this is the song that Jake & Elwood couldn't remember the words to and Bob told them that's okay and they could relearn them and include it next time when they come back again - in the movie "The Blues Brothers" - 1980
Wreck of the Old 97
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wreck of the Old 97 was an American rail disaster involving the Southern Railway mail train, officially known as the Fast Mail, while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 27, 1903. Due to excessive speed in an attempt to maintain schedule, the train derailed at the Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia where it careened off the side of the bridge, killing eleven on-board personnel and injuring seven others. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad, which was the focus of a convoluted copyright lawsuit but became seminal in the genre of country music.[1]
( long interesting article continued )
- for full article go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_of_the_Old_97
.
All Comments (21)
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Hank was a very close friend of my Mother's, he called my Grand mother "Mother" as Hank had no family. My mom was a performer many yrs ago on the Calgary Stampeed and Met Hank, as he is from Nova Scotia. Hank used to come over to the house and drink a vodka and OJ and sing at the kitchen table. I have some old reel to reel tapes we are restoring with misic and talks with Hank, great fun!! He toted my sister on stage at the Opry when she was ababy, I NEVER lived that 1 down!!
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Great song my Grandmother was blind and she would play this song so fast & hard you could actually hear her wedding band hitting the keys,she was a great person and done everything on her own & raised 14 children. I loved her very much, and love this song as well.
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My great grandfather William K Russell was born in South Carolina in 1894. When he was just a boy, he would bring a bushel of apples to the Columbia depot and they would let him toss a mail bag to the conductor on Old 97. Locomotive no 1102 of the Southern Railroad carried the mail train from Atlanta GA to Washington DC. It wrecked in 1903. He was so fascinated with this train that he would go on to work for the Southern Railroad all of his life including a time at the Spencer NC depot.
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Heard the story direct from my great-great grand mom. She was 7 years old and the 97 ended up near their house.
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This is how Country Music is supposed to sound.
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@746c No. 97 was the the south bound Special train from Wash. DC to Atlanta. The wreck was on the White Oak Mtn. grade just outside of Danville. This run between Monroe, Virginia and Spencer, NC. Steve Broady took the train at Monroe. The remark about the train not being No. 38 is due to Steve's "regular" run was No. 38 a north bound run of a similar train. The wreck was on Sept. 27th, The engine No, 1102 was brand new having been delivered to the railroad in Aug. '03.
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I grew up on this music. I'm 52 and I still love it today.
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My late Southern Grandma used to sing this to us and we were amazed. I miss her so much.
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The world need Hank forever ....
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I love Hank Snow. I had no idea how good he was until recently.
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Hank Snow had a unique flat picking style that I just love. Can't get enough of it.
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I listened to this song, pulled up all the versions on YouTube, learned the lyrics, now I cannot get it out of my head.
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My dad sang this whenever we were in the car. Makes me cry.
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fiddle + peddle steel + great lyrics = country music
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Roger Miller and Hank Snow The Best, Next too Johnny Cash, June Cash, Hank Williams, Charlie Daniels, George Jones, Tom Jones...................... so on so forth, But this Is an Awesome Song,.. My Legendary Dad Plays All Hank Tunes, Love you Dad
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My dear Dad's all-ime favourite. For you Dad.
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Five years after this train wreck my grandfather died on the rails. He worked for the Big 4 and notified them that a wheel was loose on the rail-car he was using to inspect the rails between Terre Haute and Greencastle Indiana. His boss insisted he go out that day anyway. He was about 10 miles from home when the car passed over a junction in the rail, and it tossed him off the car because the wheel came off...threw him into the culvert and the wheel landed on him. He died of internal bleeding a few hours later....grandma did get to say her goodbyes..tho he was unconscious. Big 4 gave her 100.00 for the settlement. That is all she had for the funeral and to raise 3 children during the depression. This song always makes me think of grandma and grandpa...especially that last line.
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best country singer and guitar picker ever'
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"The Blues Brothers" brought me here!...
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ive heard a lot of versions of this song,but this one will always be a favourite
