Long Steel Rail 2/e

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.''Norm Cohen's anthology of railroad folksongs will delight anyone smitten with the romance of the rails.''--Newsday ''A masterpiece.''--American Music ''Meticulously researched and clearly written, Long Steel Rail is now the sourcebook for American railroad folksongs.''--New York Folklore ''A delightfully readable book for any armchair railroad engineer.''--Choice ''Norm Cohen has not only filled a gap, he has applied mature scholarship, historical sensibility, enthusiasm, and love to produce a major work on folk lore, folk song, and the railroads' pervasive impact on popular culture.''--Railroad HistoryWinner of an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, 1982.