Biography:
Huddie Ledbetter (January 20, 1888 - December 6, 1949) was an iconic American folk and blues musician, and multi-instrumentalist, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced.
Although Lead Belly most commonly played the twelve-string, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and accordion. In some of his recordings, such as in one of his versions of the folk ballad "John Hardy", he performs on the accordion instead of the guitar.
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Other songs:
- Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
- Gee, But I Want To Go Home
- Goodnight Irene
- Cotton Fields
- Gee But I Want To Go Home Army Life
- Good Morning Blues
- Goonight Irene
- Im All Out And Down
- John Hardy
- John Henry
- Little Girl
- Midnight Special
- New York City
- On A Monday
- Parting Song When You Smile
- Pick A Bale Of Cotton
- Rock Island Line
- Somebodys Diggin My Potatoes
- The Bourgeois Blues
- Theres A Man Going Round Taking Names
- Where Did You Sleep Last Night
- Whoa Back Buck
- Whoa Back Buck Ox Drivers Song
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
(Rhythm is the most important thing here, but if you can work an alternating bass into
song with the rhythm some versions have it, some don't.)
[FYI Pig Iron: Iron tapped from a blast furnace in preparation for conversion into
cast iron, or wrought iron; getting its name from the shape of the moulds (resembling a pig)
which it used to be cast in the 19th century.]
To do this song right, you have to start out by telling the story of the Rock Island Line.
There’s a railroad in Louisiana and just outside of New Orleans they used to have a toll
and the engineers pull up to the toll booth & blow the whistle then talk to the depot
and tell’em what they have on board. For certain things, you don’t have to pay toll at
So the engineer would pull up to the station and say something like…
(Just speak the Line here in the first bit. Then give the A Chord a quick down strum chop)
A
I got Liiivvveestooockk
A
I got Liiivvveestooockk
A A
I got pigs, I got sheep
A A
I got cows, I got horses
A
I got AAAALLLL Livestock
[Spoken]
N.C.
Then the depot agent yells “Well boy, you can go right on threw, you ain’t gotta pay no
just go right on threw”
So the engineer starts pickin up some steam (Start Strumming Again)
(This is where you is where to start the train theme, start out a little slow then and
up slightly to a moderate pace, simulating the train)
And then when he gets on past the toll man he yells
A
“Well, I fooled you, I fooled you
A
I got pig iron, I got pig iron
A
I got AAAALLLLL Pig Iron
A
Well the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
E
Well the Rock Island Line, She’s a road to ride
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya wanna find it, gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
Well I might be right and, I may be wrong
E
But you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone
[Chorus]
A
The Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
E
The Rock Island Line, She’s a road to ride
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
That Rock Island Line, She's a mighty good road
E
The Rock Island Line, She's the road to ride
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
A B C Double X, Y, Z
E
Come On Baby, Take a Ride With Me
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She's a mighty good road
E
Well Rock Island Line, She's the road to ride
A
The Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She's a mighty good road
E
Well Rock Island Line, She's the road to ride
A
The Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
song with the rhythm some versions have it, some don't.)
[FYI Pig Iron: Iron tapped from a blast furnace in preparation for conversion into
cast iron, or wrought iron; getting its name from the shape of the moulds (resembling a pig)
which it used to be cast in the 19th century.]
To do this song right, you have to start out by telling the story of the Rock Island Line.
There’s a railroad in Louisiana and just outside of New Orleans they used to have a toll
and the engineers pull up to the toll booth & blow the whistle then talk to the depot
and tell’em what they have on board. For certain things, you don’t have to pay toll at
So the engineer would pull up to the station and say something like…
(Just speak the Line here in the first bit. Then give the A Chord a quick down strum chop)
A
I got Liiivvveestooockk
A
I got Liiivvveestooockk
A A
I got pigs, I got sheep
A A
I got cows, I got horses
A
I got AAAALLLL Livestock
[Spoken]
N.C.
Then the depot agent yells “Well boy, you can go right on threw, you ain’t gotta pay no
just go right on threw”
So the engineer starts pickin up some steam (Start Strumming Again)
(This is where you is where to start the train theme, start out a little slow then and
up slightly to a moderate pace, simulating the train)
And then when he gets on past the toll man he yells
A
“Well, I fooled you, I fooled you
A
I got pig iron, I got pig iron
A
I got AAAALLLLL Pig Iron
A
Well the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
E
Well the Rock Island Line, She’s a road to ride
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya wanna find it, gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
Well I might be right and, I may be wrong
E
But you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone
[Chorus]
A
The Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
E
The Rock Island Line, She’s a road to ride
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
That Rock Island Line, She's a mighty good road
E
The Rock Island Line, She's the road to ride
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
A B C Double X, Y, Z
E
Come On Baby, Take a Ride With Me
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She's a mighty good road
E
Well Rock Island Line, She's the road to ride
A
The Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
A
I say, the Rock Island Line, She's a mighty good road
E
Well Rock Island Line, She's the road to ride
A
The Rock Island Line, She’s a mighty good road
D A
And if ya want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it
D E A
Get-cha ticket at the station on the Rock Island Liiine
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