Ten Favorite Songs About Trains: Steel Rail Blues (#3)

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Here's another one of those songs centered around trains. The other series contains songs with "train" in the title, but these have trains in the subject line. This song is another one of my all-time favorites, so it was destined to make the list. #3: Steel Rail Blues - Gordon Lightfoot Yesterday, in the "train" song ("Blue Train [Of the Heartbreak Line]"), I mentioned the number of songs that John D. Loudermilk had written that became hits for George Hamilton IV. Well, by George (ha, see what I did there?), he could pick good songwriters. Another favorite of his was Gordon Lightfoot. In fact, growing up steeped in country music, my introduction to Gordon Lightfoot was the country covers of songs like "Ribbon of Darkness" (Marty Robbins, and later Connie Smith), "Did She Mention My Name" (Bill Anderson), and this one (along with "Early Morning Rain") by Hamilton. Thanks to all of you for introducing me to the legendary Canadian folk singer/songwriter. Lightfoot is one of my favorite songwriters. This song dates back to Lightfoot's first album and has been covered by a number of artists (including a rendition on an early [pre-mustache] Jim Croce album!). It's a great song about a man who has been sent a railroad ticket to go home to his love, but between the time he gets the ticket and the time the train departs "I went into to town for one last round and I gambled the ticket away." So he resorts to trying to hitchhike because "the big steel rails won't carry me home to the one I love." Gordon Lightfoot has done a number of train songs ("Canadian Railroad Trilogy" is one of the legendary songs in his career). This is one of my favorite songs of his....whether or not a train is involved. Steel Rail Blues Written by Gordon Lightfoot Recorded by Gordon Lightfoot From Lightfoot!, 1966 Not a two-bit bed to lay my body on: