Trains: Amtrak Crescent

Scott Miller and the Commonwealth: Amtrak Crescent

[purchase]

For a more traditional train song we turn to Scott Miller and the Amtrak Crescent, a rail line that runs from New Orleans to New York. Even when life goes wrong... the train rolls on and on.

This song is a sort of travelogue documenting the many stops along the train's journey. The narrator buys a cheap ticket in New Orleans in an attempt to escape yet another sticky situation. At each stop along the way, he finds something to hold his interest (Georgia peaches, Carolina BBQ, etc...), yet he always allows the train to carry him away.

In January of 2004 Miller decided to live out his song... taking his band out on the rails for an Amtrak Crescent tour. Scott Miller and the Commonwealth played 15 shows in three weeks using only the Crescent for transportation. Miller's blog documenting the trip is still up and is an interesting read.