"Southern Casey Jones" - Jesse James

Set Four: The "Lost" Volume; Disc One; Track Eight: "Southern Casey Jones" performed by Jesse James. Recorded in Chicago on June 3, 1936.

The Jesse James who recorded "Southern Casey Jones" is a complete mystery. No biographical information is provided in the notes to the Revenant set and I haven't been able to turn anything up through my research. All that seems to be known of him is that he was active in the '20s and '30s and that he recorded this song. Whether Jesse James was his real name or a pseudonym is unknown. If anyone has any information, please leave a comment or e-mail me at wheredeadvoicesgather1@gmail.com.

"Southern Casey Jones" is a variation of "Casey Jones," a family of songs concerning the death of John Luther "Casey" Jones. For biographical information on the real Casey Jones and more information on the "Casey Jones" family of songs, see the entry for Furry Lewis's recording of "Kassie Jones."


I heard the people say Casey Jones can't run.
I'm going to tell you what the poor boy done.
Left Cincinnati about half past nine,
Got to Newport News 'fore dinner time, 'fore dinner time, that's 'fore dinner time.
Got to Newport News 'fore dinner time.

Now Casey Jones said before he died,
He fixed the road so a bum could ride.
And if he ride he had to ride the rod,
Rest his heart in the hand of God, hand of God, in the hand of God,
Had to Rest his heart in the hand of God.

Now little girl says, "Mama is that a fact,
Papa got killed on the I.C. track?"
"Yes, yes honey but hold your breath,
Get that money from your daddy's death, from your daddy's death, from your
daddy's death.
You get money from your daddy's death, from your daddy's death.
Aw, your daddy's death,
You get money from your daddy's death."

When the news reached town Casey Jones was dead,
Women went home and had it out in red.
Slipping and sliding all across the streets,
With their loose mother hubbard and their stocking feet, stocking feet, stocking feet.
Loose mother hubbards and their stocking feet.

Now Casey Jones went from place to place,
Another train hit his train right in the face.
People got off but Casey Jones stayed on,
Natural born eastman but he's dead and gone, dead and gone, he's dead and gone.
He's a natural born eastman but he's dead and gone.

Here come the biggest boy coming right from school.
Hollering and crying like a doggone fool.
"Look here mama is our papa dead?
Womens going home and had it out in red.
Low cut shoes and their evening gowns,
Following papa to the burying ground, to the burying ground, to the burying ground.
Following papa down to the burying ground."

"Now tell the truth mama he says is that a fact
Papa got killed on the I.C. track?"
"Quit crying boy, don't do that.
You got another daddy on the same damn track, on the same track, on the same track
Say you got another daddy on the same track."

"Southern Casey Jones" is a marked contrast with Furry Lewis's "Kassie Jones," heard on the first volume of the Anthology, both lyrically and in terms of performance. Only two verses (the first and the third) in James's recording parallel those in Lewis's version. The songs also differ in terms of mood and style. Lewis's version is meditative, while James's recording is rollicking and uptempo. Lewis sings his version in a quiet, conversational tone, while James sings in a rough, declamatory style.

The "I.C. track" that Jones is killed on in this song is the Illinois Central, the line the real Luther Jones worked on.

Like Furry Lewis's version, James's version of "Casey Jones" does not actually depict Jones's death or is act of heroism. Instead, his death is referred to in the past tense, as having already happened.

James refers to the women as wearing "loose mother hubbards." A "Mother Hubbard" dress was a long, loose fitting dress originally introduced by missionaries in the South Pacific as a way of promoting modesty among the "naked savages" they were trying to convert. In Hawaii, these dresses were called "holokū" by the natives.

While James's recording is not the first on the Anthology to include the piano in the instrumental line-up, it is the first to feature the piano as a solo instrument. As one can well imagine, the piano was not generally an instrument associated with folk music. It was more expensive than a guitar or banjo and lacked the portability of these instruments.

The piano is technically a string instrument, played by means of a keyboard. When a key is depressed, a felt covered hammer strikes steel strings. The hammers rebound, allowing the strings to continue vibrating at their resonant frequency. These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a sounding board that couples the acoustic energy to the air so that it can be heard as sound. Dampers stop the string's vibration when the key is released. Foot pedals can be used to control the duration of the vibrations.

The first string instrument to be played with struck strings was the hammered dulcimer, an instrument with a heritage that extends back to ancient Persia. During the Middle Ages, there were numerous attempts to invent instruments that used keyboards and struck strings. Two results were the clavichord and the harpsichord, which were common by the 17th century. The problem with these instruments, however, were volume and the expressive control of notes. The clavichord offered expressive control, but wasn't loud enough for performance. The harpsichord, which had strings plucked by quills rather than struck by hammers, was loud but lacked expressive control. The first piano is believed to be an attempt to solve this problem.

The invention of the modern piano is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731), an Italian harpsichord maker employed by Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany. It is not known exactly when Cristofori invented his first piano, but it seems to be around 1700. The instrument was initially called the fortepiano, a word that combined the Italian musical terms for both loudness (forte) and softness or quiet (piano).

Early pianos (such as those used by Hayden, Mozart, and Beethoven) were different from the modern piano in several significant ways. They had a smaller octave range (four octaves, as opposed to the seven and a half or more of modern pianos), thinner strings, and a lighter case with no metal frame. By the end of the 19th century, following a period of rapid innovation fueled by the Industrial Revolution, the piano had evolved into the instrument as we know it today.

Pianos and other keyboard instruments came to the Americas as luxury items affordable only to the very rich, initially. It was only with the development of smaller and cheaper pianos that they began to gain in popularity among the middle class. By the end of the 19th century, before the advent of recorded music or radio, a piano was the center of the home entertainment system. The advent of Baby Grand and upright pianos also made it possible for bars and night clubs to feature affordable entertainment. Pianos were as ubiquitous in public spaces as the jukebox would become in the late '40s and '50s.

"Southern Casey Jones" is the third song in a row to be a variation of a song featured on the original three volume Anthology. The song is played in a style that clearly demonstrates the influence of jazz and jump blues, once more connecting the recording with the popular musical trends of the era in which it was recorded, rather than the folk styles of the past.

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Here's Andrew Calhoun performing a faithful ballad version of "Casey Jones."



Download and listen to Jesse James - "Southern Casey Jones"

"Kassie Jones" - Furry Lewis

Set One: Ballads; Disc Two; Track Ten: "Kassie Jones" performed by Furry Lewis. "Vocal solo with guitar." Recorded in Memphis on August 28, 1928. Original issue Victor 21664A&B.

Walter E. Lewis was born in Greenwood, Mississippi on March 6, 1893. His family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was seven years old. He acquired the nickname "Furry" as a child, but by the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s, he could no longer remember how or why. By the age of fifteen, Lewis was performing at parties and as a street musician. He also performed with W.C. Handy's Orchestra. He lost a leg in a 1917 railroad accident and became a professional musician in order to earn a living. He performed with medicine shows and with jug bands, including those led by Will Shade and Gus Cannon, both of whom appear on the Anthology. In 1922, tired of traveling, Lewis took a job as a Memphis street sweeper, a job he held until his retirement in 1966. Nevertheless, Lewis remained active in the Memphis music scene.

In 1927, Lewis traveled to Chicago to record for the Vocalion label. A year later, he recorded several sides for Victor, including the two-part "Kassie Jones," a variation of "Casey Jones" (the name was deliberately misspelled to avoid a copyright violation).

Following the release of the Anthology in 1952, Lewis was rediscovered and launched upon a second career. Highlights include opening for the Rolling Stones (twice), appearing on the Tonight Show, acting in a Burt Reynolds film (1975's W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings), and being profiled in Playboy magazine. Lewis was also the subject of Joni Mitchell's song, "Furry Sings The Blues," from her 1976 Hejira album. The song was based on Mitchell's meeting Lewis in a Memphis boarding house. Lewis hated the song and demanded that Mitchell pay him royalties for the use of his name.

Furry Lewis died on September 14, 1981. He is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in South Memphis. His grave is marked by two stones, the second of which was purchased by fans.

John Luther "Casey" Jones was a railroad engineer who worked on the Illinois Central Railroad. He was killed on April 30, 1900 when the passenger train he was driving collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughn, Mississippi.

The south-bound passenger train No. 1 was running under a full head of steam when it crashed into the rear end of a caboose and three freight cars which were standing on the main track, the other portion of the train being on a sidetrack. The caboose and two of the cars were smashed to pieces, the engine left the rails and plowed into an embankment, where it overturned and was completely wrecked, the baggage and mail coaches also being thrown from the track and badly damaged. The engineer was killed outright by the concussion. His body was found lying under the cab, with his skull crushed and right arm torn from its socket. The fireman jumped just in time to save his life. The express messenger was thrown against the side of the car, having two of his ribs broken by the blow, but his condition is not considered dangerous. - From a Jackson, Mississippi newspaper account of the accident.

Jones was hailed as a hero for his self-sacrifice and for the fact that he prevented any further fatalities by managing to slow his train in time.

The ballad commemorating Jones's death was reportedly written only days afterward by Wallace Saunders, a black railroad worker and a friend of Jones. The song has been recorded numerous times and in numerous variations. The story has also inspired other unrelated songs, such as the song "Casey Jones" by the Grateful Dead.

Lewis's version differs significantly with Saunders' original, being apparently adapted from the African-American railroad song "Charley Snyder" and the hobo song "Jay Gould's Daughter."

I woke up this mornin', four o'clock.
Mister Casey told his fireman, get his boiler hot.
Put on your water, put on your coal.
Put your head out of the window, see my drivers roll.
See my driver roll.
Put your head out of the window, see my driver roll.

Lord, some people say that Mister Casey couldn't run.
Let me just tell you what Mister Casey done.
He left Memphis, it was quarter to nine.
Got to Newport News, it was dinnertime.
It was dinnertime.
Got to Newport News, it was dinnertime.

I've sold my gin, I've sold it straight.
Police run me to my woman's gate.
She comes to the door, she nod her head.
She made me welcome to the foldin' bed.
To the foldin' bed.
Made me welcome to the foldin' bed.

Lord, the people said to Casey "You're runnin' over time."
"You'll have another loser with the one-o-nine."
Casey said, "This ain't in mind.
I'll run it in close just to make my time."
Said to all the passengers, "Better keep yourself hid
Naturally gonna shake it like Chainey did."
Like Chainey did.
Naturally gonna shake it like Chainey did.

Mister Casey run his engine within a mile of the place.
Number four stared him in the face.
The depot told Casey, "Well, you must leave town."
"Believe to my soul I'm Alabama bound."
"Alabama bound."
"Believe to my soul I'm Alabama bound."

Missus Casey said she dreamt a dream,
The night she bought her sewin' machine.
The needle got broke, she could not sew.
She loved Mister Casey, 'cause she told me so.
Told me so.
Loved Mister Casey, 'cause she told me so.

There was a woman name Miss Alice Fry.
Said, "I'm gonna ride with Mister Casey 'fore I die.
I ain't good looking but I take my time.
A rambling woman with a rambling mind.
Got a rambling mind."

Casey looked at his water, water was low.
Looked at his watch, his watch was slow.

On the road again.
Natural born Eastman on the road again.

Lord, there's people tell by the throttle moan,
The man at the fire's Mister Casey Jones.
Mister Casey Jones.

Mister Casey said, before he died,
One more road that he wants to ride.
People tells Casey, "Which road is he?"
"The Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe.
Santa Fe."

This mornin' I heard someone was dyin'.
Missus Casey's children on the doorstep cryin'.
Mama, mama, I can't keep from cryin',
Papa got killed on the Southern line.
On the Southern line.
Papa got killed on the Southern line.

"Mama, mama, how can it be?
Killed my father and you weren't the first to grieve?"
"Children, children want you to hold your breath.
Draw another pension from your father's death.
From your father's death."

On the road again.
I'm a natural born Eastman on the road again.

Tuesday mornin', it looked like rain.
Around the curve came a passenger train.
Under the boiler lay Mister Casey Jones.
Good old engineer, but he's dead and gone.
Dead and gone.

On the road again.
I'm a natural born Eastman on the road again.

I left Memphis to spread the news.
Memphis women don't wear no shoes.
Had it written in the back of my shirt,
Natural born Eastmen don't have to work.
Don't have to work.
I'm a natural born Eastman, don't have to work.


Lewis's version of this song is curious for a number of reasons. For one thing, the viewpoint character of the song is apparently unconnected to the events surrounding the death of Casey Jones. Not only is the speaker unconnected to Jones and his death, he also appears entirely unconcerned. The song alternates between snapshots of Jones in his engine or of Jones's family with completely unrelated material, such as the revelation that "Memphis women don't wear no shoes." The speaker also declares himself a "natural born Eastman" a number of times (one assumes that Lewis means that the speaker - like himself - was born in the eastern United States. Although why this should mean that he "don't have to work" is unclear), which has no clear connection to the story of Casey Jones. In fact, the most significant event in Jones's story - his death - happens "off stage" in Lewis's song. We only hear of Jones's death in the second part of the song from one of Jones's children. This rambling narrative, peppered as it is with non sequiturs, and sung in a laconic tone contrasts sharply with the moralizing tone of "Engine One-Forty-Three." Unlike that train-disaster song, there is no moral to the death of Casey Jones. But while the song omits a moral, it also makes no mention of Jones's heroism. It is much closer, then, in spirit to "When That Great Ship Went Down", suggesting that blacks felt that these tragedies were not THEIR tragedies (unlike the death of John Henry or the crimes of Stackalee and Frankie).

"Kassie Jones" contains lyrical connections to several other ballads heard as part of this collection. Mrs. Jones's callous comment to her children that they will "draw another pension from [their] father's death" echoes a similar line in "White House Blues." There is also the curious appearance of Alice Fry from "Frankie."

The line "Mister Casey said, before he died / One more road that he wants to ride" is similar to a line from "The Rock Island Line":

Well, the engineer said, before he died
There's two more drinks that he'd like to try.
Conductor said, "What can they be?"
A hot cup of coffee and a cold glass of tea.

"Kassie Jones" is the last of three songs in a row dealing with man-made or transportation related disasters. The last three songs on the "Ballads" set deal with natural disasters and the hard times of farmers.

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Here's Furry Lewis himself in 1968 performing "Kassie Jones" in a television appearance.


Download and listen to Furry Lewis - "Kassie Jones"