Brakeman's Blues
Jam-Along Backing Track
Lyrics
Portland Main is just the same as sunny Tennessee
Portland Main is just the same as sunny Tennessee
Any old place I hang my hat is Home Sweet Home to me
Went down to the depot and I looked up on the board
Went down to the depot and I looked up on the board
It read it’s good times here but better on down the road
Eat my breakfast here get my dinner in New Orleans
Eat my breakfast here get my dinner in New Orleans
I’m going to get me a mama
Lord I ain’t never seen
Where was you mama when the train left the shed
Where was you mama when the train left the shed
Standing in my front door wishing to God I was dead
About This Song
Brakeman's Blues is a Jimmie Rodgers original. He recorded it in Camden, New Jersey on February 14, 1928. Rodgers worked the railroads before his records took off, and he was billed as "The Singing Brakeman," so the song suits him. The full title on some issues is The Brakeman's Blues (Yodeling the Blues Away).
| Year | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Jimmie Rodgers | |
| 1964 | The Kentucky Colonels | Live at the Newport Folk Festival, with Roland White singing |
| 2006 | Chris Thile | Made with the band that soon became Punch Brothers; many players today learned the song from it |
Also recorded by Bill Monroe.
The verse in the chart above is nine bars long and has two-beat bars in it. That's a leftover of the loose blues timing Rodgers sang and played with, so count it out rather than squaring it off.
