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She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain (1870) “This song was born out of railroading folklore. Directly after the Civil War railroad-building swung into full stride. The Union Pacific tracklaying westward was to meet the east-bound Central Pacific in Ogden, Utah (they joined May 10, 1869). Other railroads, as well, were expanding as the iron horse needed more and more track. Many a tracklaying foreman was hired chiefly for his singing ability since his singing made the work go smoother and kept the men in better spirits. These are the men who gave us this song as we know it today. The melody of this song was originally both the old folk hymn “The Old Ship of Zion“ and the still older spiritual “When The Chariot Comes“ (well known to our Southern mountaineers). Railroad men gave this melody a snappy, hillbilly kind of twist, and it is probably these same men who also made up the repetitious words of the song. Because Americans like an occasional good nonsense son
