March 15th, 2022

Tuesday

From the Winamp machine…

The Last of the Hobo Kings

Steam Train Maury died last night
His wife Wanda by his side
Caught the Westbound out of here
Hopped the high irons to the by and by
They say he jumped ten thousand trains
Rode a million miles for free
Helped out at VA hospitals and penitentiary's
Dandy Dave, Rusty Nails and Sweet Lady Sugar Cane
Dead Eye Kate and the Baloney Kid raise their cups tonight in Steam Train's name
Senators, congressmen, puppets on a string
Among the windswept vagabonds Steam Train was the king
The last of the hobo kings, the last of the hobo kings
Now bums just drink and wander round
Tramps dream and wander too
But a hobo was a pioneer who preferred to work for food
He knew how his nation's doing
By the length of a side walk cigarette butt
Born with an aching wanderlust
Embedded in his gut
Hounded, beaten, laughed at, broke
Chased out of every town
With a walking stick scepter
And a shredded coffee can crown
The last of the hobo king, the last of the hobo kings
The last free men are hoboes
Steinbeck said, and he paid cash
And the stories that he bought from them
Helped write the Grapes of Wrath
But boxcars have been sealed for years
And trespassers do time
And the railroad yards are razor wired
And hoboing's a crime
So here's to you Steam Train Maury
Hold that Westbound tight
As you ride off into history
The last hobo, the last ride
The last of the hobo king, the last of the hobo kings

Songwriter: Mary Gauthier

I was in the café atrium sipping Dutch coffee one morning when I saw a headlined obituary in the International Herald Tribune newspaper for Steam Train Maury Graham, the Grand Patriarch of the Hobo Nation. I’d never heard of him, but I read his obituary and it grabbed me, he grabbed me, and I knew I’d found the thread of the song I should write. My attention fully engaged, I started poking around on my laptop for the more of Steamtrain’s story. The first thing I found was the website for the funeral home where he was being laid to rest. I clicked on his name, landed on a message board and read all the messages posted there from people who loved him, mostly other hobos. I kept poking around, digging up hobo treasures and gathering hobo stories from all over the web.
BEHIND THE SONG: THE LAST OF THE HOBO KINGS