Freight Train (song)

This article is about the song by Elizabeth Cotten. For the Nitro song, see Freight Train (Nitro song).

"Freight Train" is an American folk song written by Elizabeth Cotten in the early 1900s and popularized during the American folk revival period of the 1950s and 1960s. By Elizabeth’s own account in the 1985 BBC series Down Home, she composed “Freight Train” as a young teenager, inspired by the sound of the trains rolling in on the tracks near her home in North Carolina. The first recording of the song was made by Mike Seeger in 1957–1958, at Elizabeth’s home in Washington, D.C.. Ramblin' Jack Elliott recorded this song in 1957. It is included on the CD The Lost Topic Tapes: Cowes Harbour 1957

Other recorded versions

Many artists have since recorded their own version of the song, including

• Rusty Draper
• Laura Gibson
• Chet Atkins
• Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
• Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group featuring Nancy Whiskey (# 5 on the UK singles chart in 1957)
• Kasey Chambers, 1999
• Mike Seeger
• Pat Donohue
• Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
• Doc Watson & David Holt
• Joan Baez
• Peter, Paul, & Mary
• Alex Campbell (singer)
• Peggy Seeger
• Taj Mahal
• Ramblin' Jack Elliott
• Tommy Emmanuel
• Laura Veirs
• Nancy Whiskey
• Lenny Breau
• Jan og Kjeld
• Joe Dassin (Je Change Un Peu De Vent)
• Elizabeth Mitchell

See also

• List of Train Songs

Roud Broadside/Folksong Index ID # S145347