Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong (2d ed.) (Music in American Life)

Impeccable scholarship and lavish illustration mark this landmark study of American railroad folksong. Norm Cohen provides a sweeping discussion of the human aspects of railroad history, railroad folklore, and the evolution of the American folksong. The heart of the book is a detailed analysis of eighty-five songs, from John Henry and The Wabash Cannonball to Hell-Bound Train and Casey Jones, with their music, sources, history, and variations, and discographies. A substantial new introduction updates this edition.