Way Out in Idaho (I)

DESCRIPTION: A railroad man, enticed by "Kilpatrick's man, Catcher," goes to Idaho to work on the Oregon Short Line. Disillusioned by hard work and bad food, he winds up "happy, down in the harvest camps" and plans to marry a girl and bring her "back to Idaho."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (recording, Blaine Stubblefield)
KEYWORDS: railroading work marriage train travel
FOUND IN: US(MA,Ro)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Lomax/Lomax-OurSingingCountry, pp. 269-270, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen-LongSteelRail, pp. 560-566, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text plus a text of "The Arkansaw Navvy"="The State of Arkansas (The Arkansas Traveler II)" [Laws H1], 1 tune)
Cohen-AmericanFolkSongsARegionalEncyclopedia2, pp 583-584, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text)
Lingenfelter/Dwyer/Cohen-SongsOfAmericanWest, pp. 78-79, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin/Harlow-TreasuryOfRailroadFolklore, p. 440, "Way Out in Idaho" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, OUTIDAHO*
Roud #16409
RECORDINGS:
Blaine Stubblefield, "Way Out in Idaho" (AFS 1634 B1, 1938; on LC61)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Son of a Gambolier (I)" and references there (tune)
cf. "Sam Bass" [Laws E4] (tune)
cf. "The Buffalo Skinners" (lyrics, plot)
cf. "The State of Arkansas (The Arkansas Traveler II)" [Laws H1] (lyrics)
NOTES [36 words]: The Digital Tradition notes that the tune for its version is a "slight variant on Son of a Gambolier." But Lomax says that it is the same tune as "Sam Bass"; so also Lingenfelter/Dwyer/Cohen-SongsOfAmericanWest. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: BRaF440

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