217
The Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven
'The Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven' has left a mazy record in
court reports as well as in folk song. The following- account of
the history of the song has been drawn mainly from Federal Re-
porter, Second Series, 69 (April-May, 1934), 871 ff., reporting
"Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the Dis-
trict of New Jersey," tried in the Circuit Court of Appeals, Third
Circuit, January 3, 1934: "Suit by David Graves George against
the Victor Talking Machine Company." The District Court had
awarded George damages, adjudging him^ to be the author of 'The
Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven,' which th'e Victor Talking Machine
Company had recorded and sold at great profit. From this decree
the Victor Talking Machine Company was appealing.
On September 27, 1903, a Sunday train, No. 97, which ran over the
Southern Railway from Washington to Atlanta, was late at Lynchburg
and in making up lost time, its engineer ran it at a high rate of speed
on a steep grade down one side of White Oak Mountain, just north of
Danville, Va. As the train reached a curving trestle, it left the tracks
and plunged into a ravine below. The crew was killed and the train was
completely destroyed.
To the court's brief account of the wreck should be added some
details given one of the editors of the Frank C. Brown Collection
by Mrs Ruth M. Carter, of Greensboro, North Carolina, in the
summer of 1944. "My father," she wrote, "has been for many years
an engineer on the Southern Railroad. I have often heard him speak
of his personal acquaintance and association with many of the men
about whom some of these songs were written." In her account.
Mrs. Carter explained that Number 97 was a fast mail train and
carried no passengers, only the crew and the mail clerks. "The
engineer," she stated, "was Joe Broady, of Spencer, North Caro-
lina, and his fireman was a white man named Clapp. In this latter
respect, the ballad differs from the facts, for in the song Mr. Clapp
is spoken of as 'his black, greasy fireman.' The regular conductor,
a Mr. Aaron of Spencer, had marked off for that trip, on account
of illness, and is still living and railroading on the Southern. Mr.
Broady's brother is at present an engineer, running over the same
division on which Joe was killed."
To continue from Federal Reporter.
Quite a number of songs were written by different persons to com-
memorate this sad event. The testimony shows that shortly after the
accident one was written by Fred Lewey, another by Charlie Noell, and
a third is alleged to have been written by the plaintiff, David Graves
George. Afterwards others were written.
These songs, more or less alike, became very popular in and about
NATIVE AMERICAN BALLADS 513
Fries, Monroe, Lynchburg, Gretna, Lima, Danville, and Spencer,^ Va.,
and were sung to the music of instruments such as guitars and banjos
at country gatherings, in plank taverns, and under electric lights on
street corners on summer nights. They then mostly passed into disuse
and were even forgotten for many years, except at Fries, where they
seem to have been kept alive largely through the singing and playing of
Henry Whitter, an accomplished musician, who played a double accom-
paniment of the guitar and harmonica.
With the dramatic instinct of a real musician, Whitter shortened
Noell's song and made it more "peppy" by changing a few words and
quickening the time of the music of the song known as "The Ship That
Never Returned," to which he sang it. He added the concluding stanza
from the song of "The Parted Lovers." His rendition follows :*
They gave him up his orders at Monroe, Virginia,
Saying Steve you're way behind time,
This is not 'Thirty Eight' but it's 'Old Ninety-Seven,'
You must put her in Spencer on time.
2
Steve Brooklyn said to his black greasy fireman.
Just shovel on a little more coal,
And when we cross the White Oak Mountain,
You can watch old Ninety-Seven roll.
3
It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville,
And a line on a three mile grade.
It was on this grade when he lost his air-brakes
And see what a jump he made.
4
He was going down grade making ninety miles an hour
When his whistle began to scream.
He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle
And was scalded to death by steam.
5
So come you ladies you must take warning from this time, now and on.
Never speak harsh words to your true loving husband,
He may leave you and never return.
Some time prior to August, 1924, Vernon Dalhart of Mamaroneck,
N. Y., was recording for the Edison Talking Machine Company. He
had never heard Whitter's song, but was given a record containing it.
He listened to the record as it was played, copied the words as he
understood them and rendered the same to the Edison Company.
In August, 1924, he began to work for the defendant [Victor] and
rendered the song for it. [Here follows quotation of the Dalhart
rendering, which is reproduced in full because it accounts for another
North Carolina version.]
^ Spencer is in North Carolina, a division point of the Southern Rail-
way. — Ed.
* This 'rendition' of the song is here reproduced in full because it is
the original of one of the North Carolina versions.
514 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
They gave him orders at Monroe, Virginia,
Saying, 'Pete, you're way behind Time.
This is not 38, but it's old 97.
You must put her in Center on time.'
He looked round then to his black, greasy fireman
•Just shove on in a little more coal
And when we cross that White Oak Mountain,
You can watch old 97 roll.'
It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville,
And a line on a three-mile grade.
It was on that grade that he lost his average
And you see what a jump he made.
He was going down grade making ninety miles an hour
When his whistle broke into a scream.
He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle
And a-scalded to death with the steam.
Now ladies you must take a warnipg
From this time now and on.
Never speak harsh words to your true love and husband,
He may leave you and never return.
After due and careful investigation to ascertain if there were any rights
of authors to be protected, and finding none, the song was recorded on
one side of a record for the defendant company and thereafter sold,
mostly through the South.
The plaintiff says that he composed and wrote this song and brought
this suit to recover damages for the violation of his common-law rights
in the song. The defendant denies that George wrote it. The author-
ship of the song, therefore, is the real question in this case.
George says that he wrote and sang it within a week or ten days after
the wreck. He relies upon his own testimony in open court and the
depositions of members of his family and of several other witnesses to
prove his authorship.
It is established beyond doubt that Noell and Lewey wrote the songs
bearing their names. . . .
The court's account of the relations between Noell and Lewey,
and its quotation of Noell's song follow. Noell's song begins with
five introductory stanzas, continues with parts of the Whitter-
Dalhart song, interspersed with additional stanzas, and ends with
three other stanzas not found in Whitter-Dalhart. "This song,
written soon after the accident, was sent to The Mill Nezvs, a news-
paper edited by a Mr. Escott and published by the Mill News Pub-
lishing Company of Charlotte, N. C." It does not, however, appear
in the Frank C. Brown Collection. Concerning these songs, the
court continues :
Robert W. Gordon, an eminent authority on the subject, made an
exhaustive examination of all the songs written about this wreck. For
twenty-five years he devoted himself to the study of American folk
songs. ... He sought to determine the authorship of these songs be-
fore any controversy about them arose and before this case was begun.
During his investigation, he never heard of the plaintiff. But he learned
of the authorship of Lewey, Noell, and others, and of the rendition of
Whitter and Dalhart.
NATIVE AMERICAN BALLADS 515
The following is the version of the song of the plaintiff, who says the
defendant's record was copied from it.
On a cold frosty morning in the month of September
When the clouds were hanging low
97 pulled out from the Washington station
Like an arrow shot from a bow.
They gave him his orders at Monroe, Va.
Saying Peat you are a way behind time
It's not 38 but it's old 97
You must put her in Spencer on time.
He looked at his black greasy fireman
And said shovel in a little more coal
For when we cross that White Oak Mountain
You can see old 97 roal.
It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville
And Lima its a three mile grade
It was on this grade that he lost his average
And you can see what a jump he made.
[Th]ey was going down grade making 90 miles an hour
Who when the whistle whistle whistle broke in to a scream
He was found in a reck with his han on the throttle
And sca[l]ded to deth with the s .
Now ladies you must take warning
From this time on
Never speak harsh words to your true loving husbands
For they may leave you and never r .
Did she ever pull in no she never pulled in
For hours and hours as watching
For the Train that never pulled [in?]
The plaintiff's song and Dalhart's rendition of Noell's are so nearly
alike that it is evident that one copied from the other.
The testimony establishes with reasonable certainty the authorship of
the songs of Noell and Lewey and the rendition of Whitter and Dalhart.
Did Dalhart copy his song from any song composed and written bv
the plaintiff?
Before attempting to answer this question, the court explained
how it arose. In response to a query about the authorship of the
song, in the News Leader of Richmond, March i, 1927, in which
it was indicated that the successful claimant could expect royalty
on the sale of recordings of it, George came forward with a letter
asserting, "I with others composed the poetry of 97." Regaining
possession of the letter, he changed "with others" to "alone," and
opened negotiations with the Victor Company. The company re-
fused to pay, and suit followed.
If the plaintiff wrote the song in question [continues the decision], he
is entitled to damages. The question is whether or not he wrote it.
Counsel, in an unusually able argument based upon clear and searching
analysis of the evidence, has convinced us that the plaintiff did not write
the song used on the defendant's record, but that he copied it largely
5l6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
from Dalhart's rendition of the Whitter record. This conclusion de-
pends not so much upon the veracity of witnesses as upon documentary
evidence.
Into the court's analysis of this documentary evidence it is not
necessary, for the present purpose, to go. Most of it is present in
the songs previously quoted, centering around such points as the
name of the engineer of Old Ninety-Seven; the adjectives used to
describe the fireman ; the phrases describing the road from Lynch-
burg to Danville (all the phonograph recordings — Columbia, Bruns-
wick, Harrell, Okeh — which follow the Whitter-Dalhart, say "It's
a mighty rough road") ; the expression "lost his average," in the
Dalhart rendering, for "lost his air brakes," in the Whitter orig-
inal — a mistake which George repeated and was unable to explain
satisfactorily.
In short, unsatisfactory testimony by George explaining errors
in his song which agreed with Dalhart's rendition of Whitter,
"suspicious agreement among plaintiff's witnesses as to dates and
other facts," and the testimony of a chemist and handwriting ex-
pert to the effect that the basic materials of George's alleged
"original" copy of the song and his handwriting indicated copying
of it about 1927 rather than shortly after the wreck — these were
the grounds on which the Court of Appeals reversed the decision
of the Circuit Court.
Successive appeals of George to the Supreme Court of the United
States left the case substantially where it was in the decision of
the Circuit Court of Appeals, January 1934. See Federal Reporter
Second Series, 105 (September-October, 1939), pp. 697-699.
For a fairly early published version of the song, see R. W. Gor-
don's "Old Songs That Men Have Sung," in Adventure, January
30, 1924, p. 191.
Without title. From a carbon typescript, undated, sent to Dr. Brown
by W. Amos Abrams, Boone. This is very close to the Whitter rendition,
quoted in full on p. 513. It is either directly from the Whitter "original"
or from the recording of it (unspecified in the decision of the United
States Court of Appeals) from which Dalhart first made an Edison
record, then a Victor record.
1 They gave him his orders at Monroe, Virginia,
Saying Steve you're away behind time.
This is not thirty-eight but it's old Ninety Seven,
You must put her in Spencer on time.
2 Steve Brooklyn said to his black greasy fire-man
Just shovel in a little more coal,
And when we cross that White Oak Mountain
You can watch old ninety seven roll.
3 It's a mighty rough road from Linchburg to Danville
And a line on a three mile grade.
It was on this grade that he lost his air-brakes
And you see what a jump he made.
NATIVE AMERICAN BALLADS S'^7
He was going down grade making ninety miles an hour,
When his whistle began to scream.
He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle,
And was scalded to death by the steam.
Come all you young ladies you must take warning.
From this time now and on
Never speak harsh words to a loving husband.
For he may leave you and never return.
•The Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven (Air: The Ship That Never Re-
turned).' From Miss Hattie McNeill, Ferguson, Wilkes county; un-
dated. This appears to be based on the Dalhart rendition, quoted in
full on p. 514; note the name of the engineer and the phrase "lost his
average." It has, however, been made more colloquial, and it shows
other signs of oral transmission. The alternative names of the destina-
tion of the train, both in parentheses, in the fourth line of stanza i,
suggest that the transcriber first wrote what she knew to be the correct
one, then wrote the one she had heard.
1 Oh they gave him his orders in Monroe, Virginia ;
Saying 'Pete you're way behind time.
Now this ain't the 38, but the old 97,
You got to get her to (Spencer) on time.'
(Center)
2 So he turned to his black and greasy fireman,
Yelling 'Hay — shovel on more coal ;
'Cause when we hit the other side of the mountains
Old 97's gonna roll.'
3 It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville,
It was on the nine mile grade.
It was on this stretch that he lost his average ;
You can see what a jump he made.
4 He was goin' down the grade, doin' ninety mile an hour —
When the whistle began to scream:
And they found him in the wreck with his hand on the
throttle
All scalded to death by the steam.
5 No[w?] ladies do take warnin'
From this tune and now on.
Don't speak harsh words to your kind lovin' husband,
Or he'll leave you, and never return.
c
'The Wreck of No. 97.' From Miss Effie Tucker ; no address ; no date.
A shortened and garbled version going back, perhaps, to the Whitter
form; note "Stevenson."
5l8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1 He gave in his orders in old Monroe, Virginia,
Saying Stevenson your way behind time,
This is not thirty-eight, but is old ninety-seven.
You must throw her in Spencer on time.
2 He said to his black greasy fireman
Just shovel in a little more coal.
When we reach that white oak mountain
You can watch old 97 roll.
3 He was going down grade making ninety miles an hour,
When the whistle began to blow.
He was found in a wreck with his hand on the throttle.
And was scalded to death by the steam.
4 Take warning all you maidens
And never speak a horrid word to your husband.
He may leave you and never return.
'Old Ninety Seven.' From Miss Pearle A. Webb, Pineola, August 1922.
Has "frosty morning" (in the first line) and "Did she ever pull thru"
(stanza 8) in common with the George text, but gets the name of the
engineer right and avoids the "lost his average" error. May owe the
first two lines of stanzas 2, 4 (with some changes), and 7 (with a few
changes) to Noell's version (referred to but not quoted on p. 514). The
first two stanzas also have a good deal in common with the first stanza
and the chorus of The Train That Never Returned.'
r I was watching on the mountain one frosty morning
Just watching the smoke from below.
It was truly from a long tall smokestack
Way down on Southern Railroad.
2 It was Old Ninety Seven, the fastest mail train
That runs on the Southern line.
And when she pulled into Monroe, Virginia,
She was forty-seven minutes behind.
3 They gave him his orders at Monroe, Virginia.
Says Steve you're way behind.
This is not Thirty-Eight but old Ninety-Seven
And she's bound to be in Spencer on time.
4 He mounted to his cabin and he said to his brave young
fireman
This we'll do or die.
He reversed his engine and he pulled open the throttle.
Says watch old Ninety-Seven fly.
NATIVE AMERICAN BALLADS 519
5 He turned to his black and greasy fireman,
Says shove in a Httle more coal,
And when we cross over those White Oak Mountains
You can watch the drivers roll.
6 They was falling down grade at ninety miles an hour,
When the whistle began to scream ;
He was found in a wreck with his hand on the throttle
And was scalded to death by the steam.
7 The message came in on a telegram wire,
And this is what it said,
There's a brave engineer lying over Danville,
But he's lying over Danville dead.
8 Did she ever pull thru, no she never pulled thru,
And I'm sure she was due at two,
But for hours and hours the switchman stood watching.
For the fast mail train that never pulled through.
E
'The Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven.' As published in the Winston-
Salem Journal and Sentinel, February 9, 1941. Note "cold frosty morn-
ing" in the first line, and "lost his average" in the third line of stanza 5,
as in the George text; but "Steve" as in the Whitter rendition. The
first two lines of stanza 2 resemble "Ninety Seven was the fastest mail
that was ever on the Southern line," in the Noell version (referred to
but not quoted on p. 514). The next two lines and "Now he looked
around the bin," in stanza 4, are not matched in the other texts.
1 I was up on the mountain one cold frosty morning
Just watching the smoke from below ;
It was whirling from a short, black smokestack
Way down on the Southern Railroad.
2 It was Old Ninety-Seven, the fastest mail train
The South had ever seen,
And it ran so fast on that fatal Sunday
That death met fourteen.
3 Now they gave him his orders in Monroe, Virginia,
Saying, 'Steve, you're way behind time;
This is not Thirty-Eight, but it's old Ninety-Seven;
And you put her in Spencer on time.'
4 Now he looked around the bin and [to?] his black and
greasy fireman
Said, 'Shovel in a little more coal.
And when we cross that Whiteoak Mountain
You can watch Ole Ninety-Seven roll.'
520 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
5 Now it's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville
With a line on three-mile grade.
It was on that grade that he lost his average,
And you see what a jump he made.
6 He was going down grade making ninety miles an hour
When the whistle broke into a scream.
He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle,
And was scalded to death by the steam.
7 Now, ladies, you must take warning,
From this time now and on ;
Never speak harsh words to your true-living husband ;
He may leave you and never return.
F
'Wreck of the Old 97.' From the John Burch Blaylock Collection.
1 On a bright Sunday evening I stood on the mountain
Just watching the smoke from below.
It was springing from a long slender smokestack,
Away down on the Southern road.
Chorus:
Did she ever pull in ? No, she never pulled in,
Though at one forty-five she was due.
For hours and hours has the switchman been watching
For the mail train that never came through.
2 It was ninety-seven — the fastest train
That the South has ever seen ;
But she ran too fast on that fatal Sunday evening,
And the death list numbered fourteen.
3 The engineer was a fast, brave driver
On that fatal Sunday eve.
And his fireman leaned far out in Lynchburg
Waiting for the signal to leave.
4 When they got the board, well, he threw back his throttle,
And although his air was bad
The people all said, as he passed Franklin junction.
But they couldn't see the man in the cab.
5 There's a mighty bad road from Lynchburg to Danville,
And although he knew this well.
He said he'd pull his train on time into Spencer
Or he'd jerk it square into Hell.
6 When he hit the grade from Lima to Danville
His whistle began to scream.
NATIVE AMERICAN BALLADS 521
He was found when she wrecked with his hand on the
throttle
Where he'd [been] scalded to death from the steam.
--------------
217
The Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven
This song recorded from the singing of Mrs. Ewart Wilson, was transcribed ;
it is, however, omitted here to avoid any and all possible copyright claims.