This Train Don't Carry No Gamblers, a Classic Train Song from Family Garden Trains™

This song isn't really about trains as much as it is about getting with the Gospel. But it's very catchy and has been sung by folk, pop, and gospel singers over the years. The first version I really fell in love with was Peter, Paul, and Mary's minor-key arrangement from their debut album. Many other great versions have been performed over the years - mostly in major keys with "blue" (flatted) notes.

Often this song is titled "This Train is Bound for Glory," so if you do a search for other versions, try that alternate title. The phrase "bound for glory" has been adopted for many uses, including a biography of songwriter Woody Guthrie (and a movie of the same name), If you search on just "Bound for Glory," though, you'll get mostly professional wrestling videos.

For several years there was an alternative rockabilly gospel band out of Nashville called "This Train." Their music is a lot of fun, but it's not folk music and it's not about trains.

This train don't carry no gamblers, this train.
This train don't carry no gamblers, this train.
This train don't carry no gamblers -
No crap shooters, no midnight ramblers.
This train don't carry no gamblers, this train.

This train done carried my mother, this train.
This train done carried my mother, this train.
This train done carried my mother -
My mother, my father, my sister, and my brother.
This train done carried my mother, this train.

This train is leavin' in the morning' this train.
This train is leavin' in the morning, this train.
This train is leavin' in the morning -
Great God Almighty, a new day's a-dawning.
This train is leavin'n in the morning, this train.

This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train is bound for glory -
Don't carry nothin'; but the righteous and the holy.
This train is bound for glory, this train.

Free Roger McGuinn MP3 Version

MP3 clips from Amazon

This Train - Peter, Paul and Mary From their debut album. Mary Travers, Noel Paul Stookey, and Peter Yarrow bring carefully-crafted harmonies to this old spiritual.
This Train - Big Bill Broonzy Worth a listen. From a live folk concert, Broonzy uses a flat-picked guitar with a blues-style walking bass line.
This Train - Bob Marley In this unusual medley, the master of Reggae works "This Train" into a story song of his creation.
This Train - Bob Marley This is an entirely different presentation of the song, sung folk-style with a group.
This Train is Bound for Glory - Jim Hendricks An influential member of the early folk-rock scene, Hendricks has been performing and recording for folk audiences for many years. This is an instrumental version you will want to audition.

You-Tube Videos of This Song

Believe it or not, there aren't many good You-Tube videos of this song. There are lots and lots of videos of amateurs who figured out all three chords and recorded themselves playing the song in their bedrooms.

The best videos I could find were ones that are a lot easier to listen to than they are to watch. In fact, if you can listen to them with the picture shrunk down to nothing you'll probably enjoy them better. :-)

The first video features Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins, taped from a 1977 Johnny Cash Christmas special. Ignore the big hair and belt buckles and enjoy the music.

This video features the late Terry McMillan playing a fantastic harmonica solo version of the song in front of a church-load of people with big hair and too much make-up. In other words, you'll enjoy it better if you shrink the video, but the music is fantastic.

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