The Runaway Train by Vernon Dalhart (1925)
CD 6, track 16
Recorded in late April 1925, here’s “The Runaway Train,” sung by “citybilly” Vernon Dalhart with guitar by Carson Robison, along with violin and harmonica accompaniment—and a lot of train imitation effects. Robison co-wrote the song with Robert E. Massey. If you haven’t read Patrick Huber’s fascinating piece on the place of “citybilly” performers in the history of country music, check it out in the Journal of American Folklore (Vol. 127, No. 504) from Spring 2014, pp. 140-58.
