“Walking Boss”
Description
"Walking boss (x2), I don't belong to you. I belong (x2) to that steel driving crew." "Work one day, just one day, just one day, Then go lay in the shanty two." Etc. Verses loosely descriptive of life on a railroad crew.
Notes
A "walking boss" was a foreman who gave orders to workers' immediate supervisors, rather than to the workers themselves.
Source: Clarence "Tom" Ashley recalled this song being sung by railroad workers, probably in the 1920s. - PJS
Cross references
- cf. "Take This Hammer" (lyrics)
Recordings
- Clarence Ashley, "Walking Boss" (on Ashley03, WatsonAshley01)
References
- Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 96, "Walking Boss" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Roud #7693
- BI, CSW096