Iron Horse (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "Come Hielandman, come Lowlandman... I'll tell you how I got atween Dundee and Perth, man, I gaed upon an iron road -- a rail they did it ca'...." The singer tells of his ride, the conductor, the demand for a fare. He says he will use his feet hereafter
AUTHOR: Charles Balfour ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: train technology humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
MacColl-ShuttleAndCage-IndustrialFolkBallads, p. 19, "The iron horse" (1 text (conflate), 1 tune)
Ford-VagabondSongsAndBalladsOfScotland, pp. 158-160, "The Iron Horse" (1 text)
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #12, p. 2, "The Iron Horse" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan2 291, "The Iron Horse" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Gatherer-SongsAndBalladsOfDundee 67, "The Iron Horse" (1 text, 2 tunes)
DT, IRONHORS*
ADDITIONAL: Jon Raven, _VIctoria's Inferno: Songs of the Old Mills, Mines, Manufacturies, Canals, and Railways_, Roadside Press, 1978, pp. 47-48, "The Iron Horse" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5834
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Greenock Railway" (theme: country folk ride the railroad)
NOTES [89 words]: Greig/Duncan2 quoting Kerr, Kerr's "Cornkisters" (Bothy Ballads) as Sung and Recorded by Willie Kemp (Glasgow, 1950): "'The Iron Horse,' according to Ford, was written by Charles Balfour, for many years stationmaster at Glencarse between Dundee and Perth. It was first sung in public at a festival of railway servants held in Perth in 1848, and has since then attained wide popularity." - BS
Ford in fact knew Balfour, but his other attributions are sometimes so shaky that I'm putting a question mark on the claim of authorship. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.5
File: FVS158

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