Why Are Trains So Popular in American Song?
For much of the 19th century, and in the 20th century until the rise of the Interstate, trains were the primary means of long distance travel in America (see Railroad history below). As such, trains and railroads were (and are) associated with comings and goings, hellos and goodbyes. There is an old adage among writers that there are two types of stories, a person goes on a journey and a stranger comes to town. In the case of the train, this metaphor is a vehicle (no pun intended) for both types of stories. document.getElementById(‘adsense_placeholder_2’).innerHTML = document.getElementById(‘adsense_ad_2_hidden’).innerHTML; In addition the train would have been a symbol of wonder to 19th century Americans, most of whom were farmers (according to the Franklin Humanities Institute) and would have never seen a machine of that magnitude. This could explain the vast amount of songs glorifying the train, well known folk songs such as: • City of New Orleans • Orange Blossom Special • Wabash C
