Railroad Bill

1. Railroad Bill, Oh, Railroad Bill
He never worked and he never will
Ride, ride, ride

2. Well, Railroad Bill, he was a mighty mean man
He shot the midnight lantern out of the brakeman's hand
Ride, ride, ride

3. Well, I'm going up on a mountain, I'm going out West
A thirty eight Special sticken' out of my vest
Ride, ride, ride

4. I'll buy me a pistol just as long as my arm
Kill everybody ever done me harm
Ride, ride, ride

5. Well, Railroad Bill, oh, Railroad Bill
He never worked, Load, he never will
Ride, ride, ride

6. I got a thirty eight Special on a forty five frame
How in the world can I miss him when I got dead aim
Ride, ride, ride

7. Well, Railroad Bill, well, he took my wife
He said if I didn't like it he would take my life
Ride, ride, ride

8. Well, honey, honey, do you think I'm a fool
I wouldn't quit you when the weather is cool
Ride, ride, ride

The legend of Railroad Bill arose in the winter of 1895, along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad line in southern Alabama. Based loosely on the exploits of an African American outlaw known as "Railroad Bill," tales of his brief but action-filled career on the wrong side of the law have been preserved in song, fiction, and theater. He has been variously portrayed as a "Robin Hood" character, a murderous criminal, a shape shifter, and a nameless victim of the Jim Crow South.  L&N detectives claimed he was a man named Morris Slater, and some residents of Brewton believed him to be a man called Bill McCoy who was shot by local law enforcement.