Reuben's Train
Jam-Along Backing Track
Lyrics
Reuben made a train and he put it on the track
He run it to the Lord-knows-where
Oh me, oh my
Run it to the Lord-knows-where
Oh, you ought a-been in town
When old Reuben's train go down
You could hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
Blow that whistle, boy
Lord, I've been to the east and I've been to the west
I'm going where these chilly winds don't blow
Oh me, oh my
Going where these chilly winds don't blow
About This Song
Reuben's Train is a traditional Southern train song and banjo tune with no known author. It belongs to a large, tangled family that also includes "Train 45" and "900 Miles." Folklorist Norm Cohen covered all three in one chapter of his railroad-song study Long Steel Rail. The verses change from singer to singer, but most of them come back to Reuben, his train, and a whistle you can hear a hundred miles off.
The sung bluegrass version on this page is the one the Dillards recorded on their debut album, Back Porch Bluegrass, in 1963. In bluegrass the same tune also goes by "Train 45," which was Bill Monroe's name for it.
| Year | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Fiddlin' John Carson | A relative of the song, "I'm Nine Hundred Miles From Home" |
| 1927 | G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter | As "Train 45"; the earliest recording the Traditional Ballad Index lists for the song |
| 1961 | Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton | As "Old Reuben" |
| 1963 | The Dillards | Closing track of the album; their liner notes held it up as an example of the Dillards' sound |
Also recorded by Emry Arthur.
Demo Videos
Billy Strings crushes "Reuben's Train" 7/22/23 Essex Junction, VT
Less Than Face Productions
Foghorn Stringband - Reuben's Train - March 26, 2023
Floyd Country Store
Shadowgrass - Reuben's Train - 4/13/24 Charleston, SC
Shadowgrass
Jonny & The Jambusters w/ Eddie Bond - Reuben's Train
Lovin' Bluegrass by Carol McDuffie