I’m thinking I might need to recruit a few extra members for the band …
In case you’re interested, “This Train” has a long history and obscure authorship.
It was a gospel hit for Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the 1930s, and the title inspired Woody Guthrie’s autobiographical novel Bound for Glory. He and Tharpe are among the dozens of artists who have performed and recorded the song over the decades, representing genres as diverse as blues (Little Walter Jacobs), zydeco (Buckwheat Zydeco), country (Johnny Cash), reggae (Bob Marley & The Wailers), ska punk (Sublime), and jazz (Louis Armstrong).
Here are the lyrics as recorded by Guthrie:
This Train is Bound for Glory
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train is bound for glory,
Don’t carry nothing but the righteous and the holy.
This train is bound for glory, this train.This train don’t carry no gamblers, this train;
This train don’t carry no gamblers, this train;
This train don’t carry no gamblers,
Liars, thieves, nor big shot ramblers,
This train is bound for glory, this train.This train don’t carry no liars, this train;
This train don’t carry no liars, this train;
This train don’t carry no liars,
She’s streamlined and a midnight flyer,
This train don’t carry no liars, this train.This train don’t carry no smokers, this train;
This train don’t carry no smokers, this train
This train don’t carry no smokers,
Two bit liars, small time jokers,
This train don’t carry no smokers, this train.This train don’t carry no con men, this train;
This train don’t carry no con men, this train;
This train don’t carry no con men,
No wheeler dealers, here and gone men,
This train don’t carry no con men, this train.This train don’t carry no rustlers, this train;
This train don’t carry no rustlers, this train;
This train don’t carry no rustlers,
Sidestreet walkers, two bit hustlers,
This train is bound for glory, this train.
And for a change of pace, here are two more versions of it being performed. First from Sister Rosetta Tharpe and then Bob Marley.