Silver Ghost
Музыка
Back when I started doing the train song series, I remember telling friend and local musician David Liden that I probably knew 40 train songs. One thing I wasn't realizing at the time is that quite a few of them had already been uploaded to the BPA channel back when I was singing with Pap. Not repeating any of those songs will mean that I will have to learn a few new ones every now and then. I heard Merle Haggard sing this song about a year ago on Pandora. I thought it might be a good one to add to the series, especially since Halloween was this week, and as Hag pointed out in the opening of his recording of the song, this one involves the supernatural. :-) You can find his recording of the song on KZread. I was surprised to see that he didn't write this song. It was written by Sterling Whipple. Despite being a little awkward with its meter in a few places, it's a neat, very imaginative song. Haggard released it in 1976 on an album full of train songs. On some versions of the album cover, he's wearing a train hat similar to the one I'm wearing in this video. This is a one-take video. I had hoped to hook up with Tipper and the Pressley Girls for this one, maybe get Corie to do a train whistle sound on the electric guitar or Katie on the fiddle. I think Tipper's bass would have helped too, but we weren't able to find a time to get together. My plan B, as I sat down in front of the camera, was to come up with some kind of train rhythm that would work in a minor key and to have it gain speed as I started to sing the song. I liked my first attempt, but I couldn't think of the first words and had to stop and start over. When I first heard the song, I wondered if the second telegraph message was current or was somehow a repeat of the message that was sent on the night of the original train wreck. The speaker in the song says that he's surprised when he first hears the telegraph. He also says that it "jumped to life," which seems to imply that it may have been dormant for a long time. These details make me wonder if the telegraph was still being used at the time this story or song is set. A telephone is mentioned, which would certainly be a faster mode of communication. Let me know what you think in the comments. The speaker uses the phrase "pounding down below" in one verse yet says in another verse that the train made only a wailing sound. I wonder if the sound of the train changed or if "pounding" refers only to the mechanical movement of the wheel drivers. I don't know. That same term appears in Lightfoot's "Big Steel Rails." You can find me doing that great train song (long before the train series started) with Pap and my nephew Ben on the BPA channel. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first installment. The lyrics are below. Lord willing, I'll upload another train song next week. Thanks for watching!
On a cold and rainy night, I was sittin' in the light
Of my switchman shack of mine post on the mountain.
The storms were pretty bad, and the telephone was dead,
But it was just eleven hours till the dawn.
Then much to my surprise, the telegraph jumped into life.
As I read the code, I thought, 'could this be true?'
The train was on its way, headed up to mountain grade,
But she didn't have no engineer or crew.
At the other switch they tried to put her on the mountain side,
But she kept on coming up the mountain grade.
So I quickly dowsed the light to try to see into the night,
Maybe I could spot her headlight in the rain.
She was poundin' down below. I could hear her whistle blow,
And I thought Lord that's a high and mournful sound.
Then the telegraph again said there's a cave in at the mine,
And a hundred men are buried neath the ground.
Lord, she's coming now I see, round the bend and straight at me,
And her boiler's glowin' red as coal in hell.
The headlight switchin' wide, searchin' all the mountain side,
But the only sound she's making it's a wail.
Then I recognized the train by the number and the name;
It's from miners' Silver Ghost, 0-40-1.
Then she vanished up the track by the lonely switchman' shack,
Like a mother who was looking for her son.
Now I heard the story how an engine went to glory,
Over fifty years ago on the same line.
It was steaming for the cave-in; there were men who needed savin',
But it missed the curve and trestle near the mine.
And every now and then you'll hear a whistle on the wind
If the mountain slides and many men are lost.
It's a high and lonely wail, searching up and down the mountain.
It's the train they call the Miners' Silver Ghost.
The train they call the Miners' Silver Ghost.
The train they call the Miners' Silver Ghost...
Listen to original singles released on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/artist/5VX6Z...
Listen to original singles on KZread:
/ @paulwilson6260
Listen to Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016):
open.spotify.com/album/4VnoOy...
Пікірлер: 80
Spooky and lovely at the same time, Paul. Your trainman's cap is a nice touch, too. 👍
🥰🥰🥰 Here in Bulls Gap, TN we're right on the railroad and have a railroad museum! I live 1/2 mile or less from the tracks. I hear the train every day! Love your engineer cap! 🚂🚃
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Kimberly. I'd like to see that museum sometime! The hat is super comfortable, for some reason. :-) I don't suppose this gentleman would be related to you: kzread.info/dash/bejne/o4p3vLSKfMnRh9I.html
Nice way to start the day.
I'd love to have the Lyrics! Paul did a beautiful job signing as always! Love his voice! Train whistles are Powerful! Makes me think of the Glory Train to Heaven! Thank you Paul... God Bless. 🙏❤👏👏👏🇺🇸
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Karen. The lyrics are in the description. You just have to click "more" above. You can also just do a Google search and find them. :-)
Wonderful song, Paul. I love to listen to your music.❤
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Toni, thanks for watching and commenting!
Great song and great singer.
How I read it is, the switch man with the dead telephone due to the storm, witnessed the ghost train from the mine disaster 50 years prior. I suspect the switch man’s cabin still had an old unused telegraph inside and that sprang to life in a supernatural kind of way. What a great song and lyrics and nicely sung. Can you imagine being that switch man? I would have retired on a railroad pension after experiencing THAT night!! 😬
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Edie, that theory makes sense to me. :-)
Such good guitaring & beautiful singing as usual! & a train song too! 😊 On a personal note, I just bought a home where I can hear the train whistles! Yay! Anyway, it's such a delight to hear Paul's angelic tenor singing 😊
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
8 ай бұрын
Thanks a bunch, Robin. Hope you enjoy your new place!
Nothing like a good train song! Great job Paul!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thank you, Jackman!
Good Morning and Enjoyed Paul's Singing..
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Good Evening. Thanks for watching!
Wow these are great train songs! Love this. Thanks so much for doing these videos. My first Christmas I wasn’t 5 months old yet and my dad got me an electric train for Christmas. Haha. I’m the only girl with 5 younger brothers but love trains and anything to do with them. I’m going to have to learn these songs. Love your channel.
Fantastic Paul. 👏
Good morning, Paul. So nice to hear you pick and sing! Such talent you have inherited. A gift indeed. I can just see the delight in Pap’s eyes when you perform! Good job! ♥️🙏🏼♥️
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thank you very much, Judy!
The first time I heard this song was by Merle Haggard. You have done a wonderful job of playing and singing this song. I can just imagine that brakeman standing there in the night, seeing that sight. Great song, and a Great job of doing it!!!! God Bless!!!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
8 ай бұрын
Thank you very much. Glad you liked it! Yes, it has some cool imagery for sure!
Thank you Paul! Nice to see you and hear your music.❤️🇨🇦🙏 Praying for your mom!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Gary. We greatly appreciate the prayers!
Oh boy that is a great song thanks Paul you did a great job with it 😊
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Tim. It was a fun one to do.
A great song, will have to listen a couple of times to get the full story
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Sdrt. Yes, it takes a few times to get everything.
That was fantastic! We really appreciate the thought and the background you bring to music you share, thank you!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
MyWoolMitten, thanks for watching and commenting all these years!
Beautiful beautiful.
Bravo Paul❤
Loved this.
Well done! Thank you.
Good morning. It's always nice to wake up to Paul's singing ❤
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks a bunch, People_Watcher!
Love the hat and RR songs!
I love the sound of a train whistle. I have never rode a train but when I hear that whistle it is like it is calling for me to 'hop on & let me take you places you never been' - just like the hobo's of old. This song fits well into that haunting call Paul. Thanks for sharing.
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, DustyRose. Yes, there's something about a train whistle that speaks to the imagination!
Cool tune. The beginning reminded me a little of Eric Clapton's song, Lay Down Sally. 😅 Trains, train stuff, and train songs are soulful things. 😊
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, MrsEyes. I'll have to listen to that song.
The sound of a train whistle blowing while rolling through the mountains..... l can just hear the echoing sounds as I envision the beauty of Fall 🍂 throughout God's beautiful creations. Thank you for sharing this song Paul. Praying and blessed! 🤗🙏💕
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thank you, Linda. So glad you enjoyed it!
Goodness, we are up early this wonderful Friday morning. Paul is one talented sole. Love the words.
@sonyafox3271
9 ай бұрын
Soul! Sole, that’s your foot!
@keeptrying5962
9 ай бұрын
🤣@@sonyafox3271 I do the same thing when my fingers are flying/typing. Good thing though, as means encouraging such great YTubers with a nice comment.
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it, Turnapage!
@papaw5405
9 ай бұрын
Sole is a flatfish. Similar to a flounder. Tasty too like flounder. Doesn't taste at all like feet. Peter and Andrew were the fishermen not Paul. Paul was a tentmaker.@@sonyafox3271
Sharing this with a friend who is an engineer on the Ohio RR!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
8 ай бұрын
Thank you!
Awesome song😊
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
So glad you liked it, Linda!
Nice
Awesome song!! Of the (admittedly) few songs I've heard w/ trains as the subject matter, they all seem to have a melancholy/sad/haunting/lonely theme. I have surmised that the theme must be due to the sound that a train whistle makes.
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
That's true, Johnny. Thanks for always watching and commenting!
This song has been on my mind since I heard it this morning. I did go find and listen to Merle Haggard's rendition, as you'd let us know it's on YT. I can't believe I didn't hear this one as a child, it's the kind of thing my dad listened to and I spent a lot of time with him going down the road (he was a trucker when I was little). I'm going to send it to him as I know he'll enjoy it and likely remember it. When did music stop being composed of so many great ballads? Maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't seem common now. I think hearing such songs shapes the brain (and the soul) for the better. I love your flourish just at the end, Paul, really nice. Loved all of it! THANK YOU. 🙌🏼 🚂 🎶 💓
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Keeptrying, I always love it when I'm able to introduce a song to a music lover. Hag's version is really cool. After I uploaded this, I also found a good one from a guy named Tony Holt. His band is the something-valley-boys. You can find their recording here on YT.
Good morning Paul, God bless you and your family, God bless Granny with healing and health in Jesus name 🙏♥️
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Mr. Norman. God bless you too!
@normanjefferychester882
9 ай бұрын
@@BlindPigAndTheAcorn I enjoyed hearing you play and sing, I use to play a little, learned some chords my friend and I played parties and hangouts , got on drugs, my friend shot and killed himself , 😢
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
@@normanjefferychester882 I'm so sorry Norman! I'm so glad you left that life behind.
@normanjefferychester882
9 ай бұрын
@@BlindPigAndTheAcorn God bless you I tried to leave some comments on your morning post they seem to have got mixed up and went to the wrong people about the eggs I tried to tell somebody named Carolyn how my uncle used to burn the cast iron pans in the fire and how my granny coated them with Crisco and baked them in the oven to make them useful again
Thanks for sharing. I have not heard this song in a long time. You did a great job.
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Sir. I tried to do it a little higher than Haggard and mix in a little more Marty-sound or style. :-)
Great job Paul I enjoy your song silver ghost.Thank you for sharing with us and God Bless you all.
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thanks, Jimmy, and God Bless you too!
Thank you Paul for including the words! I like ghost stories, and that was a good one!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
My Pleasure, Osmadchlo!
I love Paul’s singing and playing!!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Thank you, Clfike!
Damn fine song and damn fine singing.
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
8 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching and for your positive comment!
♥️✝️🇺🇸
Good song ❤
There is another song with that exact melody but I can't remember what it is and it's driving me crazy (as if I wasn't already there)!
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
I bet you're right, Papaw, but I can't help you. Maybe someone else will know what it is.
Only thing missing is the “Ace of Bass” AKA Tipper. Like the logo. When you get stickers made, let us know.
@BlindPigAndTheAcorn
9 ай бұрын
Yes, it would have helped to have the bass, especially at the beginning. Oh, well.
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