The Railroad Song - Written and Sung by Paul Mead circa 1904-1905

The Highlandlake Cornet Band welcoming
the Great Western Railroad
to the new town of Mead
March 1906. Photo courtesy of the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center
Paul Mead wrote a song extolling the advantages of planting sugar beets instead of wheat in order to entice the railroad to come to town. At the time, Highlandlake was continuing an almost 30 year effort to bring the railroad. In the end, the railroad came, not through Highlandlake, but through the eastern border of Paul Mead's farm. While the words to Paul's song have come down to us through history, the actual musical accompaniment has not.
1. If you want to have a railroad, 2. Just you raise two thousand acres, 3. And then all the lads and lasses – 4. It will haul your grain and taters, |
5. It will raise the price of land, sir, 6. When you see a good thing, grab it, 7. Just hear the whistle blowing,
Chorus: |
This page was updated on October 23, 2009