Nels Anderson - The Hobo (Canciones & Poemas)

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    CHAPTER XIVHOBO SONGS AND BALLADS

    M UCH so-called hobo verse which hos found itsway into print was no t written by tramps,but by men who knew enough of the life of the roadto enable them to interpret its spirit. The besthobo poems have been written behind prison bars.Many of the songs of the I.W.W. have been writtenin jail.The poetry most popular among the men on theroad are ballads describing some picturesque andtragic inc ident of the hobo's adventurous life. Thefollowing by an unknown author illustrates thetype. Here is an incident told in the language ofthe road in a manner that every "bo" can understand and appreciate.

    Th t GJt.A MoNsTP.R Rot iTThe H n ~ < : e r i n g .sunset aerO$$ the plainKissod 'the rear eod of an east.bound train,And shon.:: (In tlle passing uack d ose b yWhere a dingbat $ \ t on a rotten tie.He di tched by ,.,shack," -and crue l fate,'fhe "con" i g h ~ e d , an-d the manifest freight,Pu11o:i out on the stem behind the maJl,And be.at it east on a sRndcd r:t.U.As she pulled away in the hding njgb tHe coold sec the gleam Q( her rod :ail Jighta.Then the moon ;U'()$C, and the stans came out;He wii.S ditched on the Gila Monster Route..T here W:t$ nothing in bu t s:wd and spacciNo chance for ab o co feed his f:!cc;Not even a shack to beg f

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    196 THE HOBOAs she pulled up close the . . e n d ..shack"'thre?. the switcl l ro the passing track,Th e stock rolled in and off' the tnab,Th e line W'-$ clear for the west-bound t ~ i n .As she hove: in sight far up the track,She was working s1cam With the bnk.e shoes slack;WJ1isding once u the whistling post,She 8itter00 by frighten-ed gh0$t.Yoo could hear the roar of the big six whecloAs the dri'r'ers pounded the polished steel,And the screech of the flange.' on the rail,As she beat it west o'er the desert t;t:UL1'he john got busy and took a ri$k,He climbed aboord an d began to frisk,He c h t . d up high 'fl.nd began to feelFo r an end-door pin, then be cracked s. seal.''twas a double-deck stock loaded with sheep;The john got in and went to sleep; The "co:1." highbaUed, and sbe whistled out,TMywc:.re off-ciown the Gila Mor.ster RO'.lte.

    Th e following ballad by Harry Kemp, the" tramppoet/' describes a si tuation that is famjlia.r to thosewho know Hobohemia. ~ < ! a n y men in the tranopclass, to escape cold and hunger, have yidded to asimilar temptation.Th& TRAMP Col'\t,SSIQK

    We hllddled i.n the missionFer it o\'3$ cold outt.ideAnd listened to the p!'eachc:rTell of the Crucified;

    Without a sleety driu:feCut deep each ragged form ,An' so we stood the ttlievin'Wher, I W3$ sti.t2 bey ;1'hey s ~ ofgood : l! j' evj!Art' off::ro:i- savin' graceAr/ some sho.....-ed l o ~ e for :n;:nkindAsbi!'.in' in thtir fa .

    An ' sorue their gra.fr was w:ki l'l 'The same as me.and you;But som-e was urgia' on ;,l$W)ult they btlit \ed wu true.We sang ao' dozed ' l i s t a ~ c d ,lllt cr.ly feared, us nte!\The tim:: - a ~ h e n s.crvicc O\-er,We'd have to mooch ; ~ g a i n .

    An' walk: the icyp.=t,cments,An' breast the s.:.iOtAn' in my heart w:1s sham.e , , Ao HI fergi..-e me, Jesus>Fer moekin' oi hy :wn.e.

    Fet l '-"ii.S ccld an' hu..'tgl}';They ga>e roeloo:l aod bedA(t::r I kneeled d:ut with dle:m,All' mil.ny prayers was said.Ao so fergi'-'Cme, Jesm,1did.n-'c no harm , , ,Fer outside it wa-,urr,An' inside it '1\'M a r m ,

    ''i '.I.,

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    !;.:.;.n,lir:~ : . w ~

    l04 TH E HOBOMen T hat Don't Fit l n" a great group of wandererswho move here and there in response to an imperiouswanderlost.

    T h ~ r e ' s a race of rnen d).at don't fi t in,A race th.:tt c-oco't stay stiU;So they break the of kith and kin,And roam the world will.They r3.n.ge the fidd and they rove the ilood,Ar.d tht}' dimb the mountain crest,c i n ~ is the cur-se of the gypsy blood,

    And they don' t know how to rest.I f hey just A'eot straight they might go far;They are strong and brave and true;But th ey're alwaY$ tired of the things th3t arcAnd they w ~ t o t th e strsnge a.nd new.'fbey say, "Cou ld I find my prop.:r groove

    \\1hilt a deep mark I wouJd make!"So the}' chop and cbaogc, a J ~ d each fresh movels only a fte:sh mistake.And each forgetS .at he strips ar.d runsWi th a briUiant, fitful pitce,I t's the stead}, quiet, ptoddir.g onesWho win the ljfdong race.And each forgets tha-t: his you th h2s fltd,Forgets cbac h.is prime is past,TiiJ he ~ D d s one day with a hope that'.sIn the glare of Ihe truth nt las t.'

    There are men in the tramp class who are a lwaysc.hasing rainbows) always expecting to ustrike itrich" sometime and somewhere. llill Quirke, formany years contr.butor to the H()b() News, givesexpression to ch is sentiment in the poe111, t(One Day;Some Way, I'll Make a Stake." This poem was, from ~ S p d ! ( l j 1/r.t Y.bn,p. 1c, by R.ob(tt W. ~ e , t . h o c - IJ41lAoist{ CbtM.b,Rlrymu -/ _., RP!CroJ1,t,/811, Md B4Jl.r.ls f/ J/Jolit.oli.J11 pubGshedb7 1 1 t " ' ~ & Hop'kL"I$, ~ r l r . , NJ . '

    HO W HE MEETS HIS PROBLEM 205written a few months before Bill was ki lled by anautomobile in California. From the heart of it wequote: For years Pve drilled the rough pathway,And we:uhered many a wintry bla.st,

    I'll rn2.kc another st.tke wme dayFor luck must turn my way at lest.I'm f:t.t' toO old for working, tooThe}' ta y my work is almost tltrough;My ore e i s $ C : $ never 3. flakeBut st-ill I hope to ma!

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    lOS THE HOBOTh.c tunes most used by the tramp song writers arethose that a re so well known that the song may besung by any group of transients. When the songsare parodjes on hymns there is usually n no te ofirony running through them. The following is calledthe hobo's "Ha rvest War Song." I t was writtenby Pa t Brennan and is sung to the tune of"Tipperary."W e a r ~ com ing ho!'l'lt., John Farmer; \"\'e 2ft oomin:g b'l weve g;ttbtred up } 'Ollt hay.We have l ~ p t out ln your hayfiddsi we b;e,vt )'Ollt morn-ing Wou t ;Weve h.eard you wondering where in hcU's chem pesky go-abouts? ChorusIt's a long "'ay, now undtr$ta-nd me; it 's a long way to town; '"It 's a long w!l.y :li;J'OM the p r a i r i ~ and to hell with. F ~ r m : r

    ll l'()Wrl .Here goes for t t ~ r wages, and the hours must comt down,For we're out for a winter's stake this svmmer, and we want. noscabs ;uound.You've paid the going wages, that's wb01.t k:tpt us on the bumYou say you've done your duty, }'OU e b . i . o k e r c d son-Of..a-S\mWe have sent your kKis to eollege,. bm sci JJ you rave and shootAnd tall us trilmp$ an d hobos, and p::sky go..abouts.Dut now the long wintry brtc:u.s are a-shaking our poor f ~ < U J l C S .And the long d :ays of hunger try to drive us bos insane,l t s dri\in.g llS to act!cn; we are orgar.aed today;Us pesky rnunps aoci hobos a.re coming back to stay.

    Joe Hill, whose real name was Joseph Hilstrorn,holds the placeofhonor among the I.W.W.'s as a songwriter. Before his death he was one of th e mostenthusiastic of the 1.\V.\V. organizers. H is executionin U tah in 191 5 has no t lessened his popularity among

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    HOW HE MEETS R1S PROSLEM J(')the "Wobblies.'' Most of his songs are P' rodies.' 1The Tramp" is a parody on the o!d tune: '1'frarnpJTramp, Tramp; the Boys Are Marching."

    I f ym ... ll s!tut ycur trp,1 wiJJ tdl yoo 'OOta a cl-.ap,Thatwas broke a:'ld up :tginst it coo forHe was no.t the-k1nd tosh!tk,He was looking hard for < ~ t k ,But he hes.rd the sunecldstory eO'ctywbere.Chm;s

    T r ~ m p , t t n . m p ~ tratnp, ~ on a..trtmf(ng,Nothing doing here frx YC'IIiI f catch you 't'O'.md :'lg=in;You will wear the hall and

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    ZIZ1ln: Hoso's LAs.T l.Av.&rr

    Beside 11. Western water-t:tnkOoe cold November day,In side an empty boxWith low and drooping head,Listen og to the l;u:t words,

    A$ the d}-ing hobo said:" I :tm g ~ n g to a better land,Where everything is brigfu ,'Whe re bee(-s:tt:W:S grow oo bushesAnd you -sfcep out every night;And you do n"Ot ha ve to work atAnd neve: change your s o c ~And streams ofgood]} whiskeyCome trid ding down th e t0k$.

    TilE RO:SO

    "Td l the bunc-h arO\lnd r..brket street,T ha t my face, no more, they 'Ll view;Tdl c ~ e m )'ve a fast freight,And ch.at I'm going str.;t.ig11t on through.Tell thea. not to weep for me,No te.an in th-eir must lurk;For I'm going to a better land.Whue they hate the word ea1Jcd work."Hark! I bear her whistling,) ml.l;$t catch her on th e 8.y;I woUld like one scoop of bet r

    Once more bef()ce l die."The hobo $tOpJ>i, hi hcod feU back,Hed sung h.is last refrainHis old ps.J .stole his coat 01nd l\1tAnd caught s.n E : t s t cr:a.in.A. W. Dragstedt, a prominent personality inChicago's Hobohemia, is a man who goes and comes'HoH Nm1. Jutt, 1 ~ 1 7

    HO W HE MEETS HIS 1.'1\0BLEM 2lJwhen he pleases. Accotd ing to hobo custom,hegoesto the country each summer, but he usually spend.;his leisure in town. He is an optimist. The follow.ing two verses were written at a time when he wasdown bu t not downhearted.

    It < ~ k c s a very tittle for me to be bapiJYi1'1:( WOr ld has" smile for each dty thu gee.; by;My diet of coJtee 1:1d douthnut! o ~ n a ? P yMakes me very de\er mcnta.l!y flC'YMy shoes are but uppes, pan ts ( ~ I I ( p . t : c ~ ;My stomach (eels J ~ n s e & when I fiU it v.ith soup;

    W ~ c . . ' l $!tepy and t i ~ c d my .slumber 1sr.a tdes.,lo bay-stacks snd h:sllways; PO.Inttimu die coop.' 'No Matter \Vhe.re You Go" is a humorouspresentation of the futility of wanderi:.g. Where togo next when the hobo wanes to move is always aproblem. Usually the "bo" gives an unfavorablereport of the district he has just left.

    Thbgs are dull in Sa.ll c i s o o ,"On the b'Um'' i!\ NewOt!esns;' ' R.awthet p,;r.k" i..'l co::lturcd 80too.Fsmed for eodlish, pOc"k, -Jr.d b"...ans."On the hog" in Kans.es City:Out in Denver things a:e ja.rrtd;And : b e y " bmng'' in

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    [Thc:rts bowl from Cincinttati,New York City, Brooklyn too;Jn Milwauketa fOo&Jny li.mitl'There is little work to do.In che face o( all tuoh namort,

    It seems not amiu to salThat no matter where you re golnaYou ha.d benetmy away.

    THE HOB O

    POP.TlY AN"D HOUO SOWOAa.ITYIn song and ballad the hobo Cle Loop. Perhaps theywill go ro the parks a."d lie on thegnss, or to th elake front w&.re they rllty sit down and lookou t onthe 11tater .

    . The. home!ess man, as he n:canders along thestreet, 1s looktng for something to b.--eak the monot-ony. He will Stand on thecurb for hours, watchingpass. !fc nocices every consp:cuous personfollows wtth .interest, perhaJl$ sometimes withwayen_ng mo\ements of every pass ing1f a policeman stops an)one on the street,a]so stops and listens in. If he notius a rnnn

    ~ ~ ~ e r i i n an alley his curiosity is aroused./.ii he a u p gathered, he. lingers. Heto hs ten 11 two men areargm ng. He wi llsitti! 'g on the curb talking with ne n i a com pamon.

    the summer, time hangs heavier on thehands t han in win ter. In cold weather he~ u a l l hard pressed to find food and h e l t e r . ' I fmclement wea ther overtakes him without fun ds