Gandy Dancers

Musical traditions and recollections of eight retired African-American railroad track laborers whose occupational folk songs were once heard on railroads that crisscross the South.

• Category

  Travel & Events

[laidback4sho72]

my dad did this back in the 70s and 80s. i once saw him lift a man off the ground by the throat with one hand. the men who did this work were as tough as the spikes they drove.

[cookietwosweet]

For anyone who is interrested theres a short scene in The Color Purple of some Gandy Dancers. I knew what they were doing, but I didn't know what they were called. Thanks for posting.

[nick dowling]

you guys have to know that blacks were arrested for the stupidest reasons

[Венцислав Петров]

ВИЖТЕ СЕГА -7/8 ТАКТ !  СЛЪНЧЕВ ПУЛС ! ШОПСКА СЮИТА !

[mattmurfy]

In England, where the railroad boom started, the workers were called fettlers. I heard that in the Victorian era, the pay was lousy - (though better than city labourers) - and they were often paid in booze. From the number of work-related deaths and derailments back then, I daresay their rails were just as bad.

[Lee Hill]

African Americans built a lot of this country both during enslavement and after, with little or no compensation and not much credit, railroad work, the White House and US Capital building for example,

[Lee Hill]

You don't get it. The singing had two purposes. One was to make the long, hot day go faster but the most critical reason for the singing was to get the men to all exert their power at the same time to move the extremely heavy rails. The beat of the music cued them to all push or pull at the exact same moment. Less snark and more thinking please.

[morriswilburn]

There has been debate as to the origin of the blues. In my opinion, work songs is the most likely.

[Morris Starkey]

My father was a section worker for nearly 45 years on the Nickel Plate between Kokomo and Peru, Indiana. It was a tough life of hot summers and bitter cold winters. As a kid I remember him getting up in the middle of the night and going out to clear switches of snow . The maintained the right of way weeds with hand scythes. Track was replaced by hand, and rotted ties were knocked out by hand. Ballast was tamped with heavy steel tamping rods and spikes were driven by hand. Tough life.

[Iggam Nator]

Musik ist müll 8d