"I've Been Working on the Railroad"

Need some help with this as the history of this one is a bit confusing...

We have a few performances of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" on site, attached to a song called "Dinah", but that's a completely different song.

According to Wikipedia, "I've Been Working on the Railroad" was originally published as "The Levee Song" in a publication from Princeton University in 1894, but the "someone's in the kitchen with Dinah" part is even older than that, and the melody for that section was possibly adapted from "Farewell Ladies" (aka "Goodnight Ladies") which was written in 1847.

Thanks for catching this error. The (relatively few) entries for "I've Been Working on the Railroad" don't belong with the "Dinah" recordings. I erroneously entered at least one of them because it "matched" previous entries.

I'll see if I can find more details about the origin of the "Railroad" song.

I was the same with the Working on the Railroad submission. It didn't look right, but I had no basis to question SHS so I went with what was on site.

Could we be missing an adaption in the root work's family tree?

I suspected this song had its origins in minstrel shows and, thanks to Oldiesmann's post, I found support for this view from the Princeton University Library archives:

https://blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2017/01/ask-mr-mudd-levee-song-and-princetons-m…

In particular, this source states that "The Levee Song" and the closely related "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and "The Eyes of Texas" have origins in minstrel shows.

Other sources I've seen show that the "Railroad" song was already a well-known classic song by the beginning of the 20th century.

The earliest known recording of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" includes "The Levee Song" as well...

I've Been Working on the Railroad [Traditional] has been created.

I made "The Eyes of Texas" an adaptation of it and moved the one version of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" that I added to the appropriate work. Someone else with full editing rights will have to move the others.

Hi guys. Luckily I found this thread. So I'm wanting to add an instrumental medley. The 2nd part is called "Dinah". I quickly recognized it as "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah" but I shockingly couldn't find any on SHS called that. All I found was a 1920s song called Dinah that to me has nothing to do with this one. Then I saw on internet reference to the melody being the same as for I've Been Working on the Railroad.

So should I put the instrumental Dinah part with I've Been Working on a Railroad?

It just seems very odd that there aren't any versions of the children's song on SHS already so mabye I'm not looking in the right place.

For now I'll park my instrumental in I've Been Searching for a Railroad until I hear back from you. Do I need to create the work for "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah"? and if so how should I set up the adaptation chain for the melody.

Thx Mark

So I added my song to this but when I listen to it I just can't hum along the lyrics of I've Been Working on the Railroad to it in my head. They seem different to me. I'm just not so sure they really are the same tunes but hopefully one of you knows better than me.

Polly Wolly Doodle - Dinah

Quote from mduval32323

So I added my song to this but when I listen to it I just can't hum along the lyrics of I've Been Working on the Railroad to it in my head. They seem different to me. I'm just not so sure they really are the same tunes but hopefully one of you knows better than me.

Polly Wolly Doodle - Dinah

Mark,

The "Dinah" part of your medley is adapted from Goodnight, Ladies

https://archive.org/details/78_goodnight-ladies_the-sportsmen_gbia0071054b/Goodn…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight,_Ladies

And this Goodnight Ladies tune was also fitted into the second part of the version we are most familiar with.

I've been working on the railroad

All the live-long day.

I've been working on the railroad

Just to pass the time away.

Can't you hear the whistle blowing,

Rise up so early in the morn;

Can't you hear the captain shouting,

"Dinah, blow your horn!"

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

Someone's in the kitchen I know

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

Strummin' on the old banjo!

Singin' fee, fie, fiddly-i-o

Fee, fie, fiddly-i-o-o-o-o

Fee, fie, fiddly-i-o

Strummin' on the old banjo.

Lyrically that part is indebted to “Old Joe, Or Somebody in de house wid Dinah?”, probably first published in Boston in 1844

https://minstrels.library.utoronto.ca/node/519185

https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~w3minstr/artistrespond/Parlour/MitP_Home.html

JoJo greets

Read, but unfortunately have nothing to add....

Jojo, thx for all this. So I need specific marching orders to add or correct things.

1) Instrumentals. I'm reading what you said as follows. Instrumentals of Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah (which currently we only have one - mine) and Instrumentals of I've Been Working on the Railroad should both be assigned to the WORK that Thom already added to SHS called Goodnight Ladies. So I would set up a Recomposition adaption for I've Been Working on a Railroad and do nothing with Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah as we don't have any lyrical performances on SHS at the moment. Or do I not do this for I've Been Working on the Railroad as you said it's only the tune of the 2nd half of the song. This gets complicated for me so I need specific marching instructions. IS THIS CORRECT?

2) If I can find lyrical performances to add, I should set up a WORK for Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah and set it up as “Old Joe, Or Somebody in de house wid Dinah?”, and set the tune as a recomposition of Goodnight Ladies. IS THIS CORRECT? or am I supposed to create the first lyrical Work and then set up a lyrical adaptation to Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah? It gets complicated when I create a Work and say it's a lyricization of Work A and a recomp of Work B. I'm not certain how to do it to be honest. So I need specific marching orders on what to do. BUT FOR THE TIME BEING YOU ARE SAYING ASSIGN MY INSTRUMENTAL TO GOODNIGHT LADIES, CORRECT?

Thom I copied you on this too since you added Goodnight Ladies.

Jojo, I just went through Thom's work. First the lyrical versions had no videos. We had 2 of 3 instrumentals with videos and I can tell you 100% they have zero in common with the Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah that anyone of a certain age knows by heart as it's a catchy tune now considered a children's song. So either what Thom added doesn't fit the Work he created or we are really talking about an unrelated song.

I'm of the mind at this point to just delete the performance I added and pass the buck as this just seems too complicated for me. It's a real shame to not have Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah on SHS as it's a song that most every single American over 50 knows by heart.

The history of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" is indeed complicated. As far as an instrumental version of "Dinah" goes, I'd attribute that to Goodnight, Ladies for now unless we can find proof that the melody is older than that song.

I deleted mine. It had zero commonality w the videos of the songs we had added. I mean zero. So something is awry but I’m walking away before I step on toes. Too much strife to add a performance. Thom’s songs have zero in common w the tune I know as Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah

Quote from mduval32323

I deleted mine. It had zero commonality w the videos of the songs we had added. I mean zero. So something is awry but I’m walking away before I step on toes. Too much strife to add a performance. Thom’s songs have zero in common w the tune I know as Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah

Mark, do you mean my songs and if that is the case what are these Thom’s songs? I have no idea what you are talking about and you are definitely not stepping on my toes................

Thom, who regularly sings his own songs

Joe Bebco wrote a very good essay about it a few months ago:

https://syncopatedtimes.com/dinah-keep-blowing-your-horn/

I have tried to briefly summarize this long article

The version we are familiar with today was probably penned sometime very close to 1950. Whoever wrote it, that puts it solidly within the era of 20th century “folk songs” rather than minstrelsy. It combines three very catchy melodic sections into one song and is structurally as well as lyrically unique. The triple threat of a song that is essentially all “hook” is likely a big part of its continued popularity.

Section 1

I've been working on the railroad

All the live-long day.

I've been working on the railroad

Just to pass the time away.

Can't you hear the whistle blowing,

Rise up so early in the morn;

Can't you hear the captain shouting,

Section 2

"Dinah, blow your horn!"

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow,

Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

Section 3

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

Someone's in the kitchen I know

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

Strummin' on the old banjo!

Singin' fee, fie, fiddly-i-o

Fee, fie, fiddly-i-o-o-o-o

Fee, fie, fiddly-i-o

Strummin' on the old banjo.

Like Michael said: section 1 was originally published as "The Levee Song" in a publication from Princeton University in 1894, and section 3 was musically adapted from "Farewell Ladies" (aka "Goodnight Ladies") which was written in 1847 and lyrically from “Old Joe, Or Somebody in de house wid Dinah?”, probably first published in Boston in 1844.

Section 3 or the bridge has no lyrical or musical predecessors, so it was freshly composed for a 1950 publication by Beatrice Landeck.

“I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” in the version we are familiar with today might have been composed by either Beatrice Landeck or one of her Civil Rights era contemporaries.

It was published in 1950 in Beatrice Landeck's book "Songs to Grow on"

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25593294M/Songs_to_grow_on

Here's one of the earliest recordings I could find:

https://archive.org/details/78_ive-been-working-on-the-railroad_georgie-cook-and…

So the song we know of as a “I’ve been Working on the Railroad” turns out to be a true folk song in the sense that it evolved over time and its author, and even the author of at least one of its constituent parts (the bridge), remains unknown. It has been used self referentially by several American ethnic groups. It is a folk song that retains certain sections of lyric and stretches of melody that were at times taken up by stage minstrels, but one that was never used by minstrels in anything close to its current musical or lyrical structure.

BTW here is an even earlier version of "I've Been Workin' On De Railroad" (the Section 1 version)

https://www.discogs.com/Shannon-Quartet-Cowboy-Song-Whoopee-Ti-Yi-YoLevee-Song-I…

Mark the medley of Polly Wolly Doodle / Dinah can easily be placed with:

Polly Wolly Doodle and Goodnight, Ladies

The Dinah part of your submission is in fact section 3 from "I've Been Working On The Railroad", which as we saw uses the musical setting of "Goodnight Ladies".

And Mark, I very much appreciate your input on this website

JoJo greets

Last edit: 2020-10-27 12:10:10 UTC by jojo

This certainly is tremendous research. I'm not sure how I would set up the Work structure with the various attributions and adaptations. I may have to defer to those more adept at that aspect. I will make sure that performance is added to SHS today. I added quite a few first performances to a lot of the old Civil War era songs yesterday.

Quote from mduval32323

I'm not sure how I would set up the Work structure with the various attributions and adaptations.

Mark I have added my thoughts on that at the end of my comment above.

JoJo greets

I saw what you wrote but I don't know how to structure it in our system is what I'm saying. And then we have the issue of where Instrumentals go. Sometimes I really don't like how we set up Work A then set up Work B and Work C as lyrical adaptations and then an instrumental of C has to be put in A when they really don't sound similar to me.