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Wabash Cannonball
Old-time song, widely known. Based on 1882 song titled "The Great Rock Island Route" and credited to J. A. Roff.
ARTIST: Bluegrass Messengers on "Live in Mt. Airy" Lyrics arranged by Richard Matteson
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: William Kindt's 1904 song was based on 1882 song titled "The Great Rock Island Route," credited to J. A. Roff. According to Burl Ives and some other sources, Roff's song originated from the 1848 song titled "Uncle Sam's Farm."
OTHER NAMES: Rattlin' Cannonball; Great Rock Island Route; From Shore to Shore (Monroe); The Cannonball (Delmores)
RELATED TO: Great Rock Island Route;
SOURCES: Randolph 840, "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 385-386, "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 840)
Lomax-FSNA 220, "The Wabash Cannon Ball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-RailFolklr, p. 462, "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 85, "Wabash Cannonball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 100 "The Wabash Cannonball" (1 text)
RECORDING INFO: Wabash Cannonball [Me II-M24] - Kindt, William (William Kent)
Rt - Rattlin' Cannonball; Great Rock Island Route
Rm - Bootlegger's Song; Three Legged Man; White Ghost Train
Mf - Grand Coulee Dam; Farmer-Labor Train; Ratlin' Cannon Ball; Industrial Workers of the World
Pb - Oscar's Cannonball; P.E.I Express; Newfoundland Express; Heavenly Cannonball; Carolina Cannonball; Itazuke Tower; Fort Nelson Freighter's Song; Gospel Cannonball; Chigleri's Cannonball
cf. "The Gatesville Cannonball" (tune)
cf. "We Work for Hay and Company" (tune)
cf. "The Boys at Ninety-Five" (tune)
SAME TUNE: "Hail! Ye Brave Industrial Workers" (Greenway-AFP, p. 178)
"We Work for Hay and Company" (File: FowL26)
The Grand Coulee Dam (by Woody Guthrie) (Greenway-AFP, pp. 292-293;
Delmore Brothers, "New Wabash Cannon Ball Blues" (Bluebird B-8404, 1940)
Delmore Brothers, "Gospel Cannon Ball" (Decca 5970, 1941)
Charles Stowe, "Carolina Cannonball" (on OBanks1)
Wernick, Peter (ed.) / Bluegrass Songbook, Oak, Sof (1976), p 92
Leisy, James / Songs for Pickin' and Singin', Gold Medal Books, sof (1962), p 26
Winds of the People, Sing Out, Sof (1982), p152
Lomax, Alan / Folksongs of North America, Doubleday Dolphin, Sof (1975/1960), p420/#220
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p236
Silverman, Jerry / Folk Guitar - Folk Song, Scarborough Book, Sof (1983/1977), p174
Leisy, James F. (ed.) / Folk Song Abecedary, Bonanza, Bk (1966), trk# p341
Herder, Ronald (ed.) / 500 Best-Loved Song Lyrics, Dover dn500/500, Sof (1998), p363 (Wabash Cannon Ball)
Abe and Malka. Mandelblatt, Abe & Malka A. / 100 Guitar Accompanyments, Amsco, Sof (1974), p148
Acuff, Roy; and his Smokey Mountain Boys. Songs of the Smoky Mountains, Capitol T 617, LP (1958ca), trk# A.02 (Wabash Cannon Ball)
Acuff, Roy. Columbia Historic Edition, Columbia FC 39998, LP (1985), trk# A.04 [1936/10/21] (Wabash Cannon Ball)
Alterman, Ned; and Richie Mintz. Alterman, Ned; and Richie Mintz / Bluegrass Bass, Oak, sof (1977), p42
Berline, Crary and Hickman. Night Run, Sugar Hill SH 3739, LP (1984), trk# B.04d
Blake, Norman and Nancy. Just Gimme Something I'm Use To, Shanachie 6001, Cas (1992), trk# 12
Boxcar Willie. King of the Road, Warwick WW 5084, LP (1980), trk# A.02
Brother Oswald (Kirby, Pete). Will the Circle Be Unbroken, United Artists UAS 9801, LP (1972), trk# 25
Brother Oswald (Kirby, Pete). Brother Oswald, Rounder 0013, LP (1972), trk# 8
Brother Oswald (Kirby, Pete). Phillips, Stacy (ed.) / Dobro Book, Oak, sof (1977), p17
Carter, A. P.; Family. A. P. Carter's Clinch Mountain Ballads, Pine Mountain PMR 206, LP (1965/1956), trk# B.03
Carter Family. Sing Out Reprints, Sing Out, Sof (1959), 11, p14b
Carter, Maybelle (Mother Maybelle). Sing Out Reprints, Sing Out, Sof (1959), 11, p14
Davis, Tommy. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume IV, Religous Songs and Others, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p364/#840 [1941/09/23]
Delmore Brothers. Cohen, Norm (ed.) / Long Steel Rail. The Railroad in American Folksong, U. Illinois, Sof (2000/1981), p367 [1938/09/29] (Cannon Ball)
Delmore Brothers. Railroad in Folksong, RCA (Victor) LPV 532, LP (1966), trk# B.01 [1938/09/29] (Cannon Ball)
Ferguson, Hank. Behind These Walls, Folk Legacy FSA 013, LP (1963), trk# B.08
Flatt, Lester; & Earl Scruggs. Wabash Cannonball, Harmony H 30932, LP (198?), trk# A.02
Folkswingers. 12 String Guitar!, World Pacific WP 1812, LP (1963), trk# B.05
Force, Robert; & D'Ossche, Albert. Art of Dulcimer, Kicking Mule KM 217, LP (1980), trk# A.02
Force, Robert; & D'Ossche, Albert. Force, Robert and Albert d'Ossche / The Wild Dulcimer Songbook, Centerstream, Sof (1981), p20
Greenway, John. Big Rock Candy Mountain. Songs of the American Hobo & Migrato.., Washington WLP 710, LP (196?/1956), trk# A.04
Hall, Roy; & His Blue Ridge Entertainers. Roy Hall and His Blue Ridge Entertainers, County 406, LP (197?), trk# B.06 [1938/11/07]
Hornbostel, Lois. Hornbostel, Lois / The Anthology for the Fretted Dulcimer, Mel Bay, Fol (1982), p 24
Keefer, Jane. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1979/09,p26c
Kimble Family. Pine Knots School Rowdies, Marimac 9037, Cas (1992), trk# 15
Limeliters. Our Men in San Francisco, RCA (Victor) LPM 2609, LP (1963), trk# A.01
Luxon, Benjamin;, Bill Crofut & Friends. Two Gentlemen Folk, Telarc CD 84401, CD (1987), trk# 16
Mid-Columbia Old-Time Music Club. Way It Was, Kuiper, CD (2002/1978), trk# 4
Phillips, U. Utah. Good Though, Philo 1004, LP (1973), trk# B.05a
Phillips, U. Utah. Phillips, U. Utah / Starlight on the Rails and Other Songs, Wooden Shoe, fol (1973), p66
Red River Dave and His Texas Tophands. Songs of the Golden West, Remington, LP (1957), trk# 12
Ritchie, Jean; and Doc Watson. Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson At Folk City, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40005, LP (1990), trk# 15
Seeger, Pete. Seeger, Pete / American Favorite Ballads, Oak, Fol (1961), p85
Stanley, Peter; and Judy Weston. Greenland No More, Talkeetna 25002, CD (1999), 1 [1960]
Taussig, Harry. Taussig, Harry / Teach Yourself Guitar, Oak, Sof (1971), p 92
Taussig, Harry. Taussig, Harry A. (ed.) / Instrumental Techniques of American Folk Guita, Trad. String Instr., fol (1965), p22
Taussig, Harry. Taussig, Harry / Advanced Guitar, Oak, Sof (1975), p 83
Thieme, Art. On the Wilderness Road, Folk Legacy FSI 105, LP (1986), trk# 11
Traum, Happy. Traum, Happy (ed.) / Flat-Pick Country Guitar, Oak, Sof (1973), p 57
Watson, Doc. Doc Watson on Stage, Vanguard VSD 9/10, LP (1970), trk# 20
RECORDINGS (ballad Index):
Roy Acuff & his Crazy Tennesseeans, "Wabash Cannonball" (Vocalion/OKeh 04466/Conqueror 9128, 1938; rec. 1936)
Roy Acuff & his Smoky Mountain Boys, "Wabash Cannonball" (Columbia 37008/Columbia 37598/Columbia 20034, 1947) [Note: Some pressings of these issues used the Vocalion/OKeh master listed above]
Bill Carlisle, "Wabash Cannon Ball" (Melotone 45326, 1939)
The Carter Family, "Wabash Cannonball" (Victor 23731, 1932; Montgomery Ward M-7444, 1938; Bluebird B-8350, 1940; rec. 1929)
Clark & Edans, "Wabash Cannonball" (Gennett, unissued, 1928)
Hugh Cross, "Wabash Cannonball" (Columbia 15439-D, 1929)
Delmore Brothers, "The Cannon Ball" (Bluebird B-7991, 1939; rec. 1938)
Roy Hall & his Blue Ridge Entertainers, "Wabash Cannonball" (Conqueror 9230, 1938)
Bill Mooney & his Cactus Twisters, "Wabash Cannonball" (Imperial 1150, n.d.)
Morris Brothers, "Wabash Cannonball - No. 2" (Bluebird B-8252, 1939)
Pete Seeger, "Wabash Cannonball" (on PeteSeeger17)
Art Thieme, "Wabash Cannonball" (on Thieme04)
Doc Watson, "Wabash Cannonball" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchieWatsonCD1)
Mac Wiseman, "Wabash Cannonball" (Dot 1262, 1950s)
RECORDINGS BY DATE:
The Great Rock Island Route!! written by J. A. Roff (1882)
Wabash Cannon Ball written by William Kindt (1904)
Wabash Cannonball Hugh Cross 1929
Wabash Cannonball by The Carter Family (recorded 1929; released 1932)
Wabash Cannonball by Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys (1938)
Wabash Cannonball by "Little" Jimmy Dickens with the Country Boys (November 1957)
Wabash Cannonball by Eddy Arnold (February 1959)
Wabash Cannonball by Blind Willie McTell (1960)
Wabash Cannonball by Ernest Tubb and His Texas Troubadours (December 1960)
Wabash Cannonball by Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson (1961)
Wabash Cannonball by Jack Elliott (1962)
Wabash Cannonball by Hank Locklin (September 1962)
Wabash Cannonball by The Ventures (1963)
Wabash Cannonball by Hank Thompson and His Brazos Valley Boys (1964)
Wabash Cannonball by Connie Francis & Hank Williams, Jr (1964)
Wabash Cannonball by Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs (June 5, 1965)
Wabash Cannonball by Johnny Cash (October 1966)
Wabash Cannonball by The Louvin Brothers (1967)
Wabash Cannonball by Chet Atkins (1967)
Wabash Cannonball by Bonnie Owens and The Strangers (1968)
Wabash Cannonball by Jerry Reed (1968)
Wabash Cannonball by Billy Walker (1968)
Wabash Cannonball by The Charlatans (1969)
Wabash Cannonball by Carl Smith (1969)
Wabash Cannonball by Jim & Jesse (1970)
Wabash Cannonball by Willie Nelson (March 1970)
Wabash Cannonball by Hank Snow (1971)
Wabash Cannonball by Bashful Brother Oswald (1972)
Wabash Cannonball by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1972)
Wabash Cannonball by Boots Randolph (1974)
Wabash Cannonball by Front Porch String Band (1992)
Wabash Cannonball by Townes Van Zandt (1994)
NOTES: The Wabash Cannonball, a well-known and popular song, certainly qualifies as a fiddle and instrumental tune. The song was played on the fiddle by Roy Acuff in the late 1930s on the Grand Ole Opry and in the repertoire of most country/bluegrass bands. It has been adapted as a solo by instrumentalists including guitar renditions Jerry Reed and Doyle Dykes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mwFA56dKP8
Origin
Its first documented appearance was on sheet music published in 1882, titled "The Great Rock Island Route" and credited to J. A. Roff. All subsequent versions contain a variation of the chorus:
Now listen to the jingle, and the rumble, and the roar,
As she dashes thro' the woodland, and speeds along the shore,
See the mighty rushing engine, hear her merry bell ring out,
As they speed along in safety, on the "Great Rock-Island Route."
A rewritten version by William Kindt appeared in 1904 under the title "Wabash Cannon Ball." The 1904 publication changed it to the "Wabash Cannon Ball" and gave the line as "There's a name of magic splendor that is known quite well by all, 'Tis the western combination called the Wabash Cannon Ball."
A train named The Wabash Cannonball ran on the Wabash Railroad in the 1880s. Here's what the Detriot News says:
A Wabash timetable from 1888, calling the train the Omaha Cannonball, showed a route from St. Louis to Omaha. The name disappeared until an 1893 newspaper advertisement called it the Wabash Cannonball, traveling from Kansas City to St. Louis.
The Wabash Cannonball ran for years along the Wabash River from St. Louis to Detroit. It was a steam engine that carried people, supplies, and food. The last run of it was in March 1971.
Whether the song is about the Wabash Railroad's "Wabash Cannonball" or another train is unknown. George Milburn in The Hobo's Hornbook (1930) explains that "the Wabash Cannonball is for the hobo what the spectral Flying Dutchman is for the sailor. It is a mythical train that runs everywhere.." Utah Phillips agrees with Milburn and states that hobos somewhere imagined a mythical train called the "Wabash Cannonball" and created the lyrics and music to go with the myth.
As folksinger, raconteur and railfan Utah Phillips explained in 1973, "In the 1880's the Wabash Cannonball was a mythological train made up by some bum somewhere, the train that any old hobo would ride on the way to his reward, wherever that might be. There never was a train called the Wabash Cannonball that went 'from the great Atlantic Ocean to the wide Pacific shore.' And there never was a train where a bum could get breakfast on the club car. As the song got more poular, the Wabash system in the Mid-west thought it was the smart thing to do to name its express run the Wabash Cannonball. It ran between Detroit and St. Louis until about three years ago."
Another theory states that the song is based on a tall tale in which Cal S. Bunyan, Paul Bunyan's brother, constructed a railroad known as the Ireland, Jerusalem, Australian & Southern Michigan Line. After two months of service, the 700-car train was traveling so fast that it arrived at its destination an hour before its departure. Finally, the train took off so fast that it rushed in to outer space, and for all is known, it is still traveling through space. When the hobos learned of this train, they called her "The Wabash Cannonball" and said that every station in America had heard her whistle.
Norm Cohen, who studied the song in his book, "Long Steel Rail" goes on to write:
... although early versions had many phrases and verses that clearly identified the song as a hobo song, these halmarks have tended to disappear from the lyrics. For example. the last line of the first verse used to contain the phrase "she's the 'boes' (hobos) accommodation," but now it is generally rendered as "she's a regular combination" (Carter Family) or "modern combination" (Loy Bodine) or just "the combination (Acuff).
According to Burl Ives, the song "The Wabash Cannonball" probably evolved from a patriotic ditty that praised the Homestead Act of 1862. That was before it had anything to do with trains and hoboes, and it was variously called "Uncle Sam's Farm" or "Bounding U.S.A." In one version, the chorus went:
Come along, come along, make no delay
Come from every nation, come from every way
Our land is broad enough, so don't be alarmed
Uncle Sam is rich enough, he'll buy you all a farm
The Carter Family made one of the first recordings of the song in 1929, though it was not released until 1932. Here are some of the lyrics as performed by The Carter Family in their 1929 recording (See version 2 fro complete lyrics):
Verse: Out from the wide Pacific ocean to the broad Atlantic shore
She climbs flowery mountain, o'r hills and by the shore
Although she's tall and handsome, and she's known quite well by all
She's a regular combination of the Wabash Cannonball.
Verse: 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: Oh, listen to the jingle, the rumor and the roar
As she glides along the woodland, o'r hills and by the shore
She climbs the flowery mountain, hear the merry hobos squall
She glides along the woodland, the Wabash Cannonball.
The most popular versions were recorded by Country Music Hall of Fame's Roy Acuff, who made his first recording in 1936. Acuff, who sang the song on the Grand Ole Opry, sold an estimated ten million copies of the song. Acuff's version is similar but different to the Carter's and introduces the name, Daddy Claxton, instead of the Carter's name Daddy Cleaton.
Norm Cohen, in the "Long Steel Rail," p. 377, (University of Illinois Press, 1981) says the "Daddy Claxton of Acuff's last verse has yet to be identified with any historical character." In many early versions, the person has a different name, including Clark, Clarkston, Greenwood, Cleaton- as well as Boston Blackie and Long Slim Perkins.
Roy Acuff is quoted as saying in SING YOUR HEART OUT COUNTRY BOY by Dorothy Horstman That he was middle-named Claxton by his father as a result of his father
attending a lecture by Dr. P. T. Claxton, a prominent teacher and lecturer at Austin Peay College the week Roy was born. Roy's father was so impressed by the man that he middle-named Roy after him. Roy also says he recorded the song exactly the way he learned it years before.
The version sung by the Carter family has this verse instead:
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.
Many variations of the lyrics exist, including a tribute to William Jennings Bryan:
Here’s to Jennings Bryan, may his name forever stand
And always be remembered in hearts throughout the land.
His earthly race is over and the curtain round him falls,
But they’ll carry him home to victory on the Wabash Cannon Ball.
The "Riding thru the jungle" line refers to "hobo jungle," term for a hang-out where bums built shacks of tarpaper and scrap wood.
One common variations calls her a "streamlined combination." There are alternative versions in which the second and third stanzas are changed significantly, including the 1966 recording by Johnny Cash. The following info is from Wiki:
Wabash Cannonball is a signature song of the Kansas State University Marching Band as well as the University of Texas Longhorn Band. Indiana State University also uses it, as the school is very near the Wabash River. It was also used as the theme song by the USS Wabash (AOR5). The song "The Wabash Cannonball" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.
The Wabash Cannonball is known as the unofficial "second" fight song of Kansas State University, having been played since the late 1960s. It was the only piece of sheet music rescued from the KSU music department in the Nichols Hall fire of 1968, and grew in popularity with students and fans. The Kansas State University Marching Band says that "the Wabash Cannonball has come to represent the survival of the underdog in the hearts and minds of all true K-State fans, and has earned a secure place in the KSUMB's history and traditions."
The University of Texas Longhorn Band plays the song at the beginning of every fourth quarter during football season. The tradition began when Texas was in the Southwest Conference and Kansas State University was in the Big 8 Conference. Kansas State University was the first to use the song. Texas band director Vincent R. DiNino once asked football coach Darrell K. Royal if he had any songs he would like to hear the Longhorn Band play. His response was that they didn't play enough country music and that he would like to hear Wabash Cannonball. 'Ban rivalry' has developed since both schools joined the Big 12 Conference.
In 1951, Jesse Rogers adapted "Wabash Cannonball" into "Jukebox Cannonball" by retaining the original melody but replacing it with a new set of lyrics. Many recordings of this song were made in the early 1950s, primarily by artists from the New York-Pennsylvania region, including Rogers himself, Ray Whitley, and Rex Zario. Bill Haley and The Saddlemen (later known as The Comets) also had a minor hit with the song in 1952, which was considered an early example of rockabilly. Haley re-recorded the song in 1979.
A version recorded by truckin' music/country star Dick Curless is an ode to truckers, the first verse is: "This proud and mighty nation will sing forever more of pioneers, brave engineers, and heroes by the score but the world of transportation has its own breed just as great they're the men of steel behind the wheel of the big rigs hauling freight"
In the third season (1952-53) of I Love Lucy, Ernie Ford sang a rendition of the song in the episodes "Tennessee Ernie Visits" and "Tennessee Ernie Hangs On".
Lonnie Donegan recorded a version of the song for his 1956 album, Lonnie Donegan Showcase. An arrangement of "Wabash Cannonball" was recorded by Robert Fripp & The League Of Crafty Guitarists on their album Intergalactic Boogie Express: Live in Europe....
The Dustbowl Balladeer's "Grand Coulee Dam" - one of several songs he wrote about the largest concrete structure in the United States—is a rework of the "Wabash Cannonball". The chorus shows Guthrie at his most poetic:
In the misty crystal glitter of her wild and windward spray
Men have fought the pounding waters and dared a watery grave
Oh, she broke their boats to splinters but she gave them dreams to dream
Of the day the Coulee Dam would tame that wild and wasted stream
"She" is the Columbia River. The song is really an ode to the river as much as the dam - rather like the way some popular versions of the "Wabash Cannonball" seem to be as much about that tall glamorous girl from Tennessee, as about the train.
Played once by the Grateful Dead on June 11, 1969 at a concert billed as "Bobby Ace And The Cards From The Bottom Of The Deck."
Another verse that appears in some versions like Doc Watson's is:
I went down to Birmingham one cold December day
When she pulled into that station, you could hear them people say
There's a fellow from North Carolina, he's long and he's tall
He came down to pick us a tune, he rode the Wabash Cannonball
"Bounding the U.S." was released on a Folkways LP in 1958 "Songs of a New York Lumberjack," by Ellen Stekert. It shows links to "Wabash Cannonball" through lyrics such as:
From the great Atlantic Ocean where the sun begins to dawn
It heats the Rocky Mountains way out in Oregon
That verse also appears in "Uncle Sam's Farm" - one version of the full lyrics (credited to Jesse Hutchison Jr. with music by Nathan Barker) is:
Of all the mighty nations in the East or in the West
Oh this glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best
We have room for all creation and our banner is unfurled
Here's a general invitation to the people of the world
Chorus: Then come along, come along, make no delay
Come from every nation, come from every way
Our lands, they are broad enough--don't be alarmed
For Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm
St. Lawrence marks our Northern line as fast her waters flow
And the Rio Grande our Southern bound, way down to Mexico
From the great Atlantic Ocean where the sun begins to dawn
Leap across the Rocky Mountains far away to Oregon
While the South shall raise the cotton, and the West, the corn and pork
New England manufactories shall do up the finer work
For the deep and flowing waterfalls that course along our hills
Are just the thing for washing sheep and driving cotton mills
Our fathers gave us liberty, but little did they dream
The grand results that pour along this mighty age of steam
For our mountains, lakes and rivers are all a blaze of fire
And we send our news by lightning on the telegraphic wires
The brave in every nation are joining heart and hand
And flocking to America, the real promised land
And Uncle Sam stands ready with a child upon each arm
To give them all a welcome to a lot upon his farm
A welcome, warm and hearty, do we give the sons of toil
To come to the West and settle and labor on free soil
We've room enough and land enough, they needn't feel alarm
Oh come to the land of freedom and vote yourself a farm
Yes we're bound to lead the nations for our motto's "Go ahead"
And we'll tell the foreign paupers that our people are well fed
For the nations must remember that Uncle Sam is not a fool
For the people do the voting and the children go to school
Uncle Sam's Farm can be traced back to the 1848 and according to Burl Ives is the original source of Wabash Cannonball.
"“Uncle Sam’s Farm” 1848; Music: Judson J. Hutchinson/ Lyrics: Jesse Hutchinson Jr., (Boston: Geo. P. Reed, 1850).
Original Tune: "Walk in De Parlor and Hear De Banjo Play"
Song Background: This song was inspired by the western expansion in the mid 1800’s. Many songs were written at that time that told of the settler’s experiences on the Oregon Trail and the opportunities that were waiting for the settlers.
In 1850 the forerunner of the Homestead Act was the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. This land act was to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory (presently the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho). Thousands of new settlers swarmed into the territory, a total of 7,437 patents were issued between 1800-1855.
The act allowed an unmarried male aged 18 or older to have 160 acres, a married couple could get 320 acres. This was one of the first that allowed married women to hold property in the United States under their own name. Half-blood Native Americans could also get a homestead. If you arrived after the December 1,1850 but before 1854 you were granted half the amount.
After the 1854 cutoff date, settlers could purchase the land for $1.25 an acre, with a limit of 320 acres. In subsequent years the price was raised and the size of the claims were lowered. Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862 that was designed to encourage settlement on the Great Plains but applied to Oregon also.
“Uncle Sam’s Farm" was written by Jesse Hutchinson Jr. He was a member of a famous group of the time called the Hutchinson Family Singers. The group was composed of siblings from 1 family. The four brothers and one sister campaigned for suffrage and against slavery and liquor with full conviction. They often were able to encourage others to take up their causes. It is known that Jesse was writing antislavery songs as early as 1843 and perhaps was even singing these at antislavery conventions earlier than that. He also wrote and published the song “Get Off the Track”.
More stanzas/Parodies:
For Lincoln's 1860 campaign John published Hutchinson's Republican Songster, in which "Uncle Sam's Farm" carried an additional topical stanza:
We've a glorious Declaration; To protect us in our rights,
An instrument of Freedom, For the blacks as well as whites,
And the day is swiftly coming When Liberty's bright sun
Shall shine with noonday splendor In the land of Washington.
Jesse’s brothers John and Asa remained active in political reform after the war. In 1876 Asa campaigned for the Greenback party and made still another version of the old favorite:
O ye tiller of the soil, In the East and in the West,
Come join the Greenback banner, 'Tis the wisest and the best;
It floats from the St. Lawrence And down to the Rio Grande,
Inviting you to organize, In one great union band.
A PARODY ON "UNCLE SAM'S FARM." Written by PROFESSOR FIELD.
Of all the reformations, in the east or in the west,
Oh the temperance reformation is the greatest and the best,
We invite the whole creation our pledge to come and sign,
And leave off drinking brandy, rum, cider. beer and wine.
CHORUS: Then come along, come along, make no delay,
Come sign the temperance pledge, sign it right away,
For if you do but keep it, you need not fear alarm
But you will soon be rich enough to buy a handsome farm.
The temperance cause is spreading o'er this our native land,
And Alchy with his subjects know not where to make a stand.
His army is decreasing, and soon there'll be but few,
Who to oppose the temperance cause on Alchy's smiles get blue
The drunkard is so foolish that he will money waste,
On liquor, when there's water more pleasant to the taste;
The water is much cheaper, and much more healthy too,
And never makes a man a fool--which liquors often do.
It never yet caused people to quarrel and to fight,
Or come home intoxicated at twelve o'clock at night.
Cold water never caused man in the gutter to be found,
And never, as I know of, to feel upward for the ground.
Now if you only hasten our pledge to come and sign,
To leave off drinking brandy, rum, cider, gin and wine,
You cannot help but prosper in your business through life,
Provided you have with you a nice teetotal wife.
Andrews, Printer, 38 Chatham St, N. Y., Dealer in Songs, Game Books, Motto Verses, &c., Wholesale and Retail.
Wabash Cannonball- Bluegrass Mesengers
Verse: From the great Atlantic Ocean to the wide Pacific shore
From the queen of flowin' mountains to the South belle by the door,
She's a-long and a-tall and a-handsome and known quite well known by all,
She's the combination called the Wabash Cannonball.
Chorus: Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar
Riding through the woodland through the hills and by the shore
Hear the mighty rush of the engine, hear the lonesome hobo's squall
Riding through the jungles on the Wabash Cannonball.
Now the eastern states are dandies, so the western people say,
From New York to St. Louis and Chicago by the way,
Through the hills of Minnesota where the ripplin’ waters fall,
No chances will be taken on the Wabash Cannonball.
Here's to Daddy Claxton, may his name forever stand.
And he will be remembered in the courts of Alabam.
When his earthly race is over and the curtains round him fall.
We'll carry him home to victory on the Wabash Cannonball. (chorus)
She came down from Birmingham on the Wabash cannonball.
As she rolled into the station you could hear all the people say,
There's a girl from Tennessee, a-she's long and a-she's tall.
She came down from Birmingham on the Wabash Cannonball (Chorus)
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