The Wreck of the Old Ninety-Seven Traditional - Woody Guthrie Well, they give him his orders at Monroe Virginia Saying: Pete, you’re way behind time This ain’t thirty-eight, but it’s old nienety-seven And you’ve got to be in Danville on time But he turned around to his black greasy fireman Said: Shovel in a little more coal When we cross the White Oak Mountain You can watch old ninety-seven roll It’s a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville On a line on a three mile grade It is on this grade that he lost his airbrakes And you see what a jump he made He was a-going down the grade making ninety miles an hour And his whistle broke out in a scream It is on that grade that he lost his airbrakes** And you see what a jump he made He was a-going down the grade making ninety miles an hour And his whistle begin to scream And they found him in the wreck With his hand on his throttle and scalded to death by the steam Well, ladies, you can all take warning From this time now and on Never speak harsh words to your true loving husband He might leave you and never return as I recorded on * additional/alternative verse between verse 3 and 4: Then a telegram come from Washington Station / his is how it read: That brave engineer that run old '97 / Is lyin' in Danville, dead. ** mis-reading by Woody on a number of boots. The correct way to sing it is: He was found in the wreck, his hand on the throttle Scalded to death by the steam It's supposed to be a continuation of the telegram. (Thanks to Glenn G. Gamblin for this information)   alles-uke.de