Hobo Bill's Last Ride

DESCRIPTION: "Riding on an eastbound freight train, speeding through the night, Hobo Bill, a railroad bum, was fighting for his life." Bill dies alone and is found with a smile on his face, but none mourn; "he was just a railroad bum who died out in the cold."
AUTHOR: Waldo O'Neal (born 1908, according to Cohen)
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (recording, Jimmie Rodgers)
KEYWORDS: death hobo
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cohen-LongSteelRail, pp. 393-396, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7513
RECORDINGS:
Gene Autry, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (Gennett 7290/Champion 16073/Supertone 9702, 1930; Superior 2769, 1932)
Frank Marvin, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (Banner 773/Domino 4601/Jewel 6024/Challenge 785/Romeo 1388/Conqueror 7592 [all as Frankie Wallace], 1930) (Brunswick 474, rec. 1930)
Jimmie Rodgers, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (Victor 22421, 1930; rec. 1929/Montgomery Ward 4210)
Hank Snow, "Hobo Bill's Last Ride" (RCA Victor 20-4095, 1951)
File: LRai393

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