On October 26 and 27, 2013, Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Nickel Plate Road 765, in conjunction with the Norfolk Southern Railway's " 21st Century Steam" program, pulled a 225-mile round-trip excursion, retracing the Cannon Ball's former route between Fort Wayne and Lafayette, Indiana. However, the train was named after the song, not the other way around.
Louis as the Wabash Cannon Ball in 1949, the only actual train to bear the name, which it carried until the creation of Amtrak in 1971, when it was discontinued. In the wake of the song's popularity, the Wabash Railroad renamed its daytime express run between Detroit and St. See the mighty rushing engine, hear her merry bell ring out,Īs they speed along in safety, on the "Great Rock-Island Route."Ī rewritten version by William Kindt appeared in 1904 under the title "Wabash Cannon Ball". Now listen to the jingle, and the rumble, and the roar,Īs she dashes thro' the woodland, and speeds along the shore, This version and all subsequent versions contain a variation of this chorus: As early as 1882, sheet music titled "The Great Rock Island Route" was credited to J. Over many years, this popular song's music has remained unchanged while the verses have been updated by song artists. Finally, the train took off so fast that it rushed into outer space and where, for all that is known, it is still traveling. After two months of service, the 700-car train was traveling so fast that it arrived at its destination an hour before its departure. Bunyan, Paul Bunyan's brother, constructed a railroad known as the Ireland, Jerusalem, Australian & Southern Michigan Line. When the hobos learned of this train, they called her the "Wabash Cannonball" and said that every station in America had heard her whistle.Īnother story states that the song is based on a tall tale in which Cal S. The song was then created with the lyrics and music telling the story of the train. Utah Phillips states that hobos imagined a mythical train called the "Wabash Cannonball" which was a "death coach" that appeared at the death of a hobo to carry his soul to its reward.
There are many theories of the origin of "The Wabash Cannonball". The song increased in popularity during this time. Bing Crosby recorded the song for his album Bing Crosby Sings The Great Country Hits. In addition to the Carter Family's 1929 recording and Roy Acuff's 1936 recording, many hillbilly artists recorded "The Wabash Cannonball" during the Great Depression era of the 1930s and the song was also recorded by Piedmont Blues legend Blind Willie McTell. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.įind sources: "Wabash Cannonball" – news Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. The song "The Wabash Cannonball" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. It was also used as the theme song by USS Wabash. Austin State University Lumberjack Marching Band, the Kansas State University Marching Band, the Texas Tech University Goin' Band from Raiderland, and the University of Texas Longhorn Band. It is also associated with the Stephen F. It is a signature song of the Indiana State University Marching Sycamores and the Purdue All-American Marching Band as the ISU and Purdue campuses are adjacent to the Mighty Wabash River. The Acuff version is one of the fewer than 40 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide. Another popular version was recorded by Roy Acuff in 1936. The Carter Family made one of the first recordings of the song in 1929, though it was not released until 1932. Louis as the Wabash Cannon Ball from 1949 until discontinuation during the formation of Amtrak in 1971. The only train to actually bear the name was created in response to the song's popularity, with the Wabash Railroad renaming its daytime express service between Detroit and St. The song has become a country music staple and common marching band repertoire.
"The Great Rock Island Route", popularized as "Wabash Cannonball" and various other titles, is a 19th century American folk song that describes the scenic beauty and predicaments of a fictional train, the Wabash Cannonball Express, as it traveled on the Great Rock Island Railroad.
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