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New River Train
Traditional Old-Time, Breakdown & Song; Southeast US;
ARTIST: From Max Hunter Collection As sung by Ollie Gilbert, Mountain View, Arkansas on August 29, 1969;
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: Late 1800’s (Earliest Recording1924 Henry Whitter); Fields Ward says he learned it c. 1895;
RECORDING INFO: Kelly Harrell, "New River Train" (Victor 19596, 1925; on KHarrell01) (Victor 20171, 1926; on KHarrell01). Wade Ward, "New River Train" [instrumental] (on Holcomb-Ward1). County 778, Tommy Jarrell - "Pickin' on Tommy's Porch" (1984. Learned from the playing of his father, fiddler Ben Jarrell). Front Hall FHR-037, Mark Graham - "Natural Selections" (1987). Rounder CD 0383, Mike Seegar and Paul Brown - "Down in North Carolina." Vanguard CD, Doc Watson, Fred Price & Clint Howard. Ridge Rangers, "The New River Train" (AFS 1693 A2, 1939; on LC61). Henry Whitter, "The New River Train" (OKeh 40143, 1924); Old Brother Charlie & the Corn Crib Trio, "New River Train" (Mercury 6206, 1949). Pete Seeger, "New River Train" (on PeteSeeger24), (on PeteSeeger33, PeteSeegerCD03). Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers. Bristol Sessions. Vol 1, Country Music Foundation CMF 011C1, Cas (1987), cut# 17e; Cox, Rosa. 52nd Annual Old Fiddlers Convention Galax, Va 1987, Heritage (Galax) 704, LP (1988), cut# 2; Dickel Brothers. Dickel Brothers Volume One, Empty Records MTR 376, LP (1999), cut#A.06; Hughes, Duke. Anglo-American Folksong Style, Prentice-Hall, Sof (1968), 4-5 (Darling You Can't Have One); Jarrell, Tommy. Pickin' on Tommy's Porch, County 778, LP (198?), cut# 5; Kimble Family. Pine Knots School Rowdies, Marimac 9037, Cas (1992), cut# 12; Monroe Brothers. Feast Here Tonight, Bluebird AXM2-5510, LP (1975), cut# 9; Poole, Charlie; and the Highlanders. Charlie Poole and the Highlanders, 1927-29, Puritan 3002, LP (196?), cut# 8b (Trip to New York On the Train); Poston, Mutt; and the Farm Hands. Hoe Down! Vol. 6. Country Blues Instrumentals, Rural Rhythm RR 156, LP (197?), cut# 13; Ridge Rangers. Railroad Songs and Ballads, Library of Congress AFS L61, LP (1968), cut#B.01; Seeger, Mike; and Paul Brown. Way Down in North Carolina, Rounder 0383, CD (1996), cut#13; Skyhook Shoreline Drifters. Second Annual Willamette Valley Folk Festival, Cultural Forum, LP (1972), cut#B.03; Smith, Glen (Virginia). More Goodies from the Hills, Union Grove SS-3, LP (1969), cut# 5; Stoker, Ed. Tenino Old Time Music Festival. 1973-74, Voyager VRLP 313-S, LP (197?), cut# 7; Stoneman, Ernest and Hattie. Stoneman Family Old Time Songs, Folkways FA 2315, Cas (1957), cut# 5; Stoneman, Ernest (V., "Pop"). Round the Heart of Old Galax, Vol 1. Featuring Ernest Stoneman, County 533, LP (1980), cut# 14; Strange Creek Singers. Strange Creek Singers, Arhoolie 4004, LP (1972), cut# 8; Ward, Wade. Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward, Folkways FA 2363, LP (1962), cut#B.07; Watson, Doc; Clint Howard and Fred Price. Old Timey Concert, Vanguard 107/8, Cas (1987), cut#A.01; White Lightning. White Lightning, ABC ABCS-690, LP (1969), cut# 6; Darlin' (You Can't Love One)- American Ballads and Folk Songs, MacMillan, Bk (1934), p.158; The Group. 'The Group' Visits Puget Sound, Golden Crest CR 3056, LP (196?), cut#B.01
OTHER NAMES: "Darlin' You Can't Have One;" “A Trip to New York On the Train (Instrumental)”
RELATED TO: “Sweet Mary Jo;” “Going Away From Home;”
SOURCES: Abrahams/Foss, p. 73, "Darlin' You Can't Have One". Lomax-ABFS, pp. 158-159, "Darlin'". PSeeger-AFB, p. 74, "New River Train". Silber-FSWB, p. 143, "New River Train;" Sellers, Maureen. Dulcimer Player News, Dulcimer Player News DPN, Ser (1973-), 24/1, p33;
NOTES: The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad through the beautiful New River Gorge in southern West Virginia was completed in early 1873 and half a year later the Low Moor Iron Company of Virginia was chartered. The "New River Train" was probably written shortly after the railroad was completed. Fields Ward says he learned the song circa 1895.
The above version, by Ernest Stoneman and the Sweet Brothers, 1928, is from "Long Steel Rail," by Norm Cohen, 1981, p. 466-469, Univ. Illinois Press. Earliest reports of the song come from Virginia. The Ward Family, of Galax, VA, claimed that the song became part of their repertoire in about 1895. The song probably refers to one of the two New River companies chartered by the Norfolk and Western and that worked in the 1880s). The earliest recording (and publication) was by Henry Whitter, of VA, in 1923 (similar to the Stoneman version). Whitter's version counted up to four; in 1925 a version by Kelly Harrell of the same area went up to six. The version quoted from Bill Monroe is Harrell's. Later, Vance Randolph collected a version that went up to ten.
The New River is 330-miles long stretching from the hickory ridges high in the mountains of North Carolina to West Virginia’s coalfields where it joins the Gauley River to create the Kanawha. Far from being "new," the New River is the oldest water course on the eastern seaboard. "I’ve heard dates of anything from 10 million to 360 million years,’ says Lynn Sharp of the Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History in Blacksburg. "I usually just say it’s ancient."
The melody has been described as a "Blue Ridge Mountain standard." The tune and lyrics are similar to "Mole in the Ground" and "My Last Gold Dollar." There is also a resemblance to "Crawdad".
Here are the lyrics to the “New River Train” by Ollie Gilbert:
VERSE 1
I'm leav'in on the New River Train
I'm leav'in on the New River Train
Same ole train that brought me here
Gon'na carry me away again
VERSE 2
O, darlin, you can't love but one
O, darlin, you can't love but one
Cain't love but one an' have any fun
O, darlin, you cain't love but one
VERSE 3
O, darlin, you cain't love two
O, darlin, you cain't love two
Cain't love two an' let your little heart be true
Darlin, you cain't love two
VERSE 4
O, darlin, you cain't love three
O, darlin, you cain't love three
Cain't love three an' still love me
O, darlin, you cain't love three
VERSE 5
O, darlin, you cain't love four
O, darlin, you cain't love four
Cain't love four an' love me any more
O, darlin, you cain't love four
VERSE 2
O, darlin, you cain't love five
O, darlin, you cain't love five
Cain't love five an' get honey from my beehive
Darlin, you cain't love five
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