The Wabash Cannonball

From the Atlantic Ocean, to the wide Pacific shore,

 

Heard the Queen of flowing mountains, To the South Belle by the door,

 

She's long, tall and handsome; She's loved by one and all.

 

She's a regular combination, Called the Wabash Cannonball

 

Chorus:

Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar,

 

As we ride along the woodlands, through the hills and by the shore.

 

Hear the mighty rush of the engines; hear the lonesome hobo squall,

 

While travelling 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 rippling waters fall

No chances can be taken on the Wabash Cannonball.

 

Here's to Daddy Claxton, may his name forever stand

Will he be remembered through parts of all our land,

When his earthly race is over and the curtain round him falls

We'll carry him on to victory on the Wabash Cannonball.

"The Wabash Cannonball" is an American folk song about a fictional train, thought to have originated in the

late nineteenth century. Its first documented appearance was on sheet music published in 1882, titled "The

Great Rock Island Route" and credited to J. A. Roff. www.wikipedia.org. There is also speculation that Roy

Acuff may have added in the reference to “Daddy Claxton” – as a relative of his, but Internet sources are

conflicting and inconclusive.