| "The Rock Island Line" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Cummins State Farm inmates | |
| Released | 1930s |
| Recorded | October 1934 |
| Venue | Cummins State Farm, Lincoln County, Arkansas |
| Genre | American folk music |
| Length | 1:48 |
| Label | Archive of Folk Culture (no. AFS 248) |
| Songwriter(s) | see text |
| Producer(s) | John A. Lomax |
"Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it appeared as a folk song as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins State Farm prison in 1934.[1]
The beginning of the most popular version of the song tells the story of a train operator who smuggles pig iron through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was livestock, but this episode was a later addition not present in the traditional, 1929 version. The song's chorus includes:
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
The Rock Island Line is the road to ride
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
If you want to ride you gotta ride it like you find it
Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line
Many artists subsequently recorded it, often changing the verses and adjusting the lyrics.[2]