Freight Train

This is one of the first songs I learned to finger-pick on my guitar when I was learning. I once heard a recording of Elizabeth Cotten singing this song. This version for clawhammer is different from the one Elizabeth sang with her big dreadnaught guitar or the one I play on my classical guitar.

I love folk music because it's so open to individual interpretation.

Here is the original version as played in her unique style by Elizabeth Cotten playing a left-handed dreadnaught.

Here's a link to the Smithsonian Folkways biography of Elizabeth.

https://folkways.si.edu/elizabeth-cotten-master-american-folk/music/article/smithsonian

Tom King

Well here's a really good film of Elizabeth singing a kind of revenge song with this great line in it "I wish to my soul that old woman would die!"

You just can't get great lyrics like that anymore.

T.